Dharmanandan - Biodiversity loss,its past and current trends and its impact

Summary

This lecture series on Environmental Studies covers topics like biodiversity laws, environmental audits, impact assessments, and risk assessments. It explains the concept of biodiversity and its loss due to human activities like habitat destruction and climate change. The lecture discusses the impacts of biodiversity loss on ecosystems and human life, and introduces tools to assess and mitigate environmental risks posed by projects.

Takeaways

• 🌿 **Biodiversity Defined**: Biodiversity refers to the variability among living organisms, including within species, between species, and of ecosystems.
• 🌍 **Historical Perspective**: Geological records show five major extinction events, but the current rate of biodiversity loss is unprecedented, driven by human activities.
• 🏞️ **Drivers of Biodiversity Loss**: Habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and invasive species are the main causes.
• 🌳 **Consequences of Biodiversity Loss**: Loss of species disrupts ecosystems, impacts food webs, nutrient cycling, and can lead to the loss of potential resources and species.
• 💸 **Economic Impact**: Biodiversity loss affects industries like tourism, fisheries, and agriculture, impacting the economy.
• 🔍 **Environmental Audit**: It's a systematic internal review to ensure environmental responsibility, including complaint evaluation, performance assessment, and risk identification.
• 🏗️ **Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)**: A proactive tool used to predict potential environmental impacts of a project before it begins, including scoping, impact assessment, mitigation measures, and monitoring.
• 📊 **Environmental Risk Assessment**: A systematic process to estimate the likelihood and severity of adverse environmental effects from a project or activity.
• 🌱 **Three R's Concept**: Reduce, recycle, and reuse are key concepts in sustainability, aiming to minimize waste and resource consumption.
• 🌐 **Ecomark Scheme**: A scheme to promote sustainable practices and products, encouraging businesses to adopt environmentally friendly measures.

Q & A

What is the definition of biodiversity according to the UNDP?

According to the UNDP, biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.

How many major extinction events have occurred throughout Earth's history?

Geological records reveal five major extinction events throughout Earth's history.

What is the primary driver of the current rate of biodiversity loss?

The current rate of biodiversity loss is primarily driven by human activities.

What are the main causes of biodiversity loss as mentioned in the script?

The main causes of biodiversity loss mentioned are habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and invasive species.

What is the impact of biodiversity loss on ecosystems?

Biodiversity loss disrupts ecosystems by altering the delicate balance between them, impacting food webs, nutrient cycling, and natural processes that sustain life on Earth.

How does biodiversity loss affect ecosystem services?

Biodiversity loss puts at risk the ecosystem services we rely on, such as clean air and water, food security, pollination, and flood control.

What is an environmental audit and what does it assess?

An environmental audit is a systematic internal review of an organization's environmental practices, policies, and compliance with regulations. It assesses complaints evaluation, performance assessment, and risk identification.

What is the purpose of an environmental impact assessment?

An environmental impact assessment is a proactive tool used to predict the potential environmental impacts of a proposed project before it begins.

What are the key elements of an environmental impact assessment?

The key elements of an environmental impact assessment are scoping, impact assessment, mitigation measures, and monitoring and reporting.

What is an environmental risk assessment and what does it involve?

An environmental risk assessment is a systematic process used to estimate the likelihood and severity of adverse effects on the environment resulting from a particular project, activity, or substances.

What are the steps involved in an environmental risk assessment?

The steps involved in an environmental risk assessment are hazard identification, exposure assessment, hazard characterization, risk estimation, and risk management.