"The variability among living organisms from all sources including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and all other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are apart; this includes diversity among species, between species and ecosystems."
Our biological diversity is plagued by our own initiative of globalization. One of the conflicts coming from the reductionist biology approach, which analyzes organisms by certain genes and what the genes can do and being able to genetically modify the organism to perform new functions. These genetically modified organisms (GMO's) are used by the food industry to get the most out of their animals in the least amount of time and turn the greatest profit. Although they succeed, it promotes shady business practices that border animal cruelty and ethical relationships with suppliers.
Our arrogant view of all organisms as our resources is what's destroying biodiversity on Earth. "Even the smallest microbe plays a role in maintaining ecological processes..." It almost reminds of the movie, "The Butterfly Effect", every small thing has a profound effect on our future, as with these microbes or any species, everything has their place in the circle of life. I found James Lovelock's 'Gaia' theory to be the best example,
"The earth is a living system, self-regulating and self-organizing. Just as our bodies maintain their temperature, the earth's equilibrium is maintained through ecological processes in which biodiversity plays a central role."
As do bricks in a building, every living organism has a purpose in life, and altering its function or driving it to extinction and create an imbalance.
"For animals, habitat loss, caused by large dams, industrial plantations, highways and the expansion of human settlements, is the major threat to species survival."
Before humans,, extinctions still happened, but as Shiva explains, "the erosion of biodiversity has become a systemic product of industrialization." Our human need for bigger and better technology, faster cars, more places to shop, or bigger houses has put a battle of borders between animals and humans. Animals today have less area than ever to live and it has caused a strain on their ability to gather valuable resources. We continue to invade their natural habitat and pollute their air... something needs to change.
