The clock is ticking and the human race has but very little time to stop the extinction of about half a million species before the end of this decade, with the sad and cruel trajectory of human activities, it is not an easy way down the road for some poor helpless creatures around us who will have nowhere to go if human beings continue to exploit nature and its resources, let alone build concrete jungles one after the other. Despite all the things that are happening around us, we as a society or community can take educate ourselves and help to preserve whatever nature is left around us. #ThinkWithNiche
How can you help to protect the biodiversity around you? Isn’t this an uncommon question? Let’s talk about biodiversity first. So what is biodiversity actually and how will one define it? Well according to the World Wildlife Fund, biodiversity is the variety of different kinds of life- one finds in an area. The variety of creatures could vary from mammals, other animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms like the bacteria that are a part of the life around us.
Now let us dive into the question in front of us, how to protect biodiversity but let us also understand the need to protect biodiversity, the answer lies with us humans. Due to our increasing activities and population, we are upsetting the biodiversity balance and ecological balance of Mother Nature. In the past decade, due to increasingly dangerous human activities, some 160 species have gone missing or declared extinct.
Let us now understand how we can help protect the biodiversity around us-
1. Support Local Farms
Locally produced food has a key role to play in order to protect the biodiversity of a place. If you regularly purchase from a local farm, you will not only help the local economy and the local farmers but also help boost the production of the locally produced crops and hence support biodiversity, in short, there is a chain reaction which you must understand.
2. Help The Bees
Firstly and fore mostly, avoid using harmful pesticides in your backyard plants, make sure to plant some flowering pots, when the bees suck the nectar from the flowers, they help create a new biodiversity cyclic pattern. Globally bees help pollinate 90% of species and are responsible for 35% world production of food supply. Unfortunately due to human activities, bees are under attack, they are not able to get their food as there are hardly any flowering plants available for them, since we have made peace with plastic plants, so the best you can do is plant real flowers in your backyard and balcony.
3. Conserve Water
In order to maintain a healthier planet, we need to make sure that all life around gets the required amount of water on a daily basis, hence try to take shorter showers, reduce the quantity of water you use when you wash hands, clothes, dishes and brushing your teeth.
4. Protect Natural Habitat
If you happen to stumble upon a huge tree or a green area, avoid stepping on plants and insects, try to maintain the balance, and do not exploit the biodiversity of that area. Learn that human impact can cause serious damage to the biodiversity of a place that has a very delicate balance.
5. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Learnt the three ‘R’s of environment science, that is to reduce your plastic consumption, and even if you, try to reuse and even if you have found a way to reuse, make sure you recycle. These techniques will not only help to reduce the electricity bills, reduce damage to the environment, cut down carbon emissions, help slow climate change and give space to landfills. Firstly, cut down the plastic consumption, and pro-tip, shift to a wooden toothbrush and use other DIY techniques to learn how to reduce, reuse and recycle.
I am sure, that while human activities are a cause of concern for the planet, there is still some time left to educate the people around us to help the planet survive and be a better place tomorrow.