Conservation of Biological Diversity. The Road to Survival

Opinion

Among scholars it is common to hear that, from now on, the evolution of modern man will depend above all on the environmental pressure of a social type, since the natural selection that we suffer is relaxed, due to the achievements made in health and other forms of protection from environmental factors. This has allowed us to survive in conditions very different from those of other living organisms and has also made us believe that we are indestructible.

However, the mismanagement of biological diversity and the rest of the natural resources, for whatever reasons, ambition, selfishness, necessity, laziness or ignorance, have shown for centuries that it can give rise to phenomena as terrible as the that the entire planet lives, with the appearance of the coronavirus.

To face future pandemics, there is now talk of improving health systems, making access to low-income people, acquiring high-level equipment, training personnel capable of promptly discovering and preparing life-saving vaccines, and having hospitals with greater capacity to receive seriously ill patients. It is suggested that governments must foresee ways to help the poorest sector of humanity, which is also the most numerous globally.

Ultimately, it is about preparing for war with supplies and enough weapons for combat. But the question is, why, just as one proceeds to avoid warlike confrontations between nations, is it not about avoiding causes? Leaders meet, talk, discuss, negotiate, and formulas appear that avoid direct combat.

It would be less costly and more humane if we made the maximum effort to eliminate or at least reduce the mismanagement of biological diversity and other natural resources, that is to say, eliminate its causes. This would allow us not to risk a war where the majority would suffer serious effects, it would be possible to avoid an unequal Opinion confrontation for many.

Of course this is a difficult undertaking. The human species is one of those that shows the greatest genetic diversity, this due to its possibilities of inter-population gene flow. Therefore, the variety of phenotypes is very large, so we not only present a great morphological variety, but also physiological and behavioral. That must be the reason that we all perceive biodiversity differently and that we also have different interests in it. Some see it as beautiful landscapes, others as storehouses for critters, some use it as a healing resource, others to feed or warm themselves, many have beliefs based on plants or animals. Most see it as a source of work. But the use of biological diversity based on these different perceptions and interests, occurs at different scales and regions of the world. There are people who use it for their own consumption, others who trade in the components of biological diversity and there are also those who exploit natural resources on a higher scale and impact large areas of land or water. The regions of the planet most affected are those that, due to their climate and geographical location, exhibit the greatest biological diversity, however, they are also the poorest. Of course, there are well-known historical elements that explain this particularity.

It is significant that when inquiring into the uses and interests we have on biological diversity, very few people know or remember that the air and water we need to live come from this resource. Then, it is as simple as it is said, without biological diversity we could not live.

It is then about achieving an effective conservation of biological diversity and other natural resources, it is the expeditious way to survive and enjoy a good quality of life as a species, not only for some populations within the species.

Conservation is about bringing together all these different interests and perceptions about biological diversity and making its use rational throughout the world in which we live. For this, it will be necessary, as I said before, to eliminate or reduce the causes of its mismanagement: ambition, selfishness, need, laziness and ignorance. How to achieve it? It is something that should be on the agendas of all governments, all scientists, all educators and all religions. In short, they are in charge of guiding the destinations of each country.

There is a single common factor that unites the different political ideologies, customs, beliefs and ways of life of humanity. This is, the need to survive and make our descendants achieve it too. The conservation of biological diversity is the expeditious way to achieve this.

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Dr. Alcides C. Sampedro Marín, Director of the Research Group on Tropical Biodiversity, University of Sucre, Colombia.