Climate Change Implications on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Climate Change implications on biodiversity and ecosystem are visible in all phases of the environment — from marine species to birds and the human person.
Nature has all it takes to recreate and heal itself; all we need to do is look to her for all we need”- Elizabeth Gulugulu.
In 1993, the United Nation proclaimed the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. This day celebrated globally on 22nd May was themed “Our solutions are on the planet”.
The United Nations aims is to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity, which has led the world to celebrate the day, bringing human consciousness to the need to restore ecosystems.
Revamp Rave Network held the fifth session of the online cohort training programme on Climate Change themed “Climate Change Implication on Biodiversity and Ecosystem” on 23rd and 25th of May, 2020. The session took place on both days with attendee present from all over Africa, taught by Elizabeth Gulugulu — Project Manager, African Youth Initiative on Climate Change and Mr Akintunde Akinmolayan- Environment Consultant.
Elizabeth Gululgulu held her session on 23rd May 2020. She stated that around 25% of all animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. The challenge has formed a significant impact on our biodiversity and serves as a threat to the world’s existing food supply chain experience.
She said Europe is home to the highest proportion of species at threat of extinction. Humans are in the middle of the 6th mass extinction, giving rise to the number of species that have been affected physiologically by climate change through global warming and high concentration of Green House Gasses (GHG).
According to the IPBES report, more than one million species face extinction and explicitly explained the impact and threats of Climate Change on Biodiversity, saying that fire is a significant cause of biodiversity loss.
As global warming increases, wildfires are likely to get more intense and extensive resulting in significant ecosystem changes that would affect biodiversity through species loss or species composition changes.
Fire can lead to loss of habitat, territories, shelter, and food loss and can kill virtually all seedlings. She also made mention that smoke from fires can significantly reduce photosynthesis needed by other living organisms.
According to her, the warmer temperature in sea surface can result in coral bleaching — this is the whitening of corals caused by stress by a change in environmental/physiological conditions. They react by expelling the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that live in their tissues providing it with essential nutrients.
She states further that the increase in atmospheric temperature has led to several melted ice sheets in the Arctic, making the region non-habitable for species like polar bears, penguins, and the likes who survive on the ice leading them to go into extinction.
Increase in CO2 in the atmosphere has led to more absorption of CO2 by the ocean. Atmospheric CO2 is dissolved into the sea, which leads to a decrease in the ocean pH (ocean acidification) resulting in changes in the chemistry of the ocean.
It can disrupt the ability of plants and animals in the sea to make shells and skeletons of calcium carbonate while dissolving shells already formed.
She went further by classifying climate change as having a direct and indirect effect on the environment — the direct effect of Climate Change can cause a change in the hydrological cycle. It can increase water temperature, causing heat stress, spring warming, increase drought frequency, reduce runoff from snow and ice covers, and increase rainfall in winter.
Indirect effects can lead to land cover changes, leading to increased water use for irrigation and other human uses, reduced continuity due to dam constructions, deteriorated water quality and susceptibility to invasions by neozoa.
Elizabeth ended her session by asserting that climate change solutions are all found in nature, urging us to take responsibility for our environment.
On 25th May, Akintunde Akinmolayan explicitly spoke on the Implications of Climate Change in Ecosystem, causes of adaptation, migration and death of species, loss of ecosystem services by humans due to Climate Change.
He explained that global warming is an increase in Global Mean Surface Temperature (GMST) averaged over 30 years centred on a particular year or decade, expressed relative to pre-industrial levels unless otherwise specified (IPCC, 2019).
He defined Climate Change as a change of climate attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable periods. (UNFCCC, 1992).
Mr Akintunde explained why healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity are fundamental to life and that climate change is an adverse phenomenon that causes concern to humanity.
He defines an ecosystem as a functional unit consisting of living organisms, their non-living environment and their interactions. Small changes caused by climate change have significant effects on ecosystems.
Therefore, he highlighted some services such as biodiversity sustenance, provision services such as food and other non-timber forest products, regulating services — carbon sequestration, carbon regulation, Erosion control, and cultural services encouraged ecosystem viz.
He noted several possible adaptation solutions to Climate Change, including conservation and sustainable land management.
He ended saying, “We see global warming not as an inevitability but as an invitation to build, innovate and effect change, a pathway that awakens creativity, compassion and genius…This is a human agenda”- Paul Hawken
Read more here — https://rravenetwork.medium.com/impact-of-climate-change-on-water-resources-37e8d9fb0607
