“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide

what kind of difference you want to make.”

Jane Goodall

Biodiversity is the biological variety of all life forms on the planet - animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms – which makes up our natural world. Each of these organisms works together with the rest to maintain the ecosystem as an interactive network, balancing and supporting life. Conserving biodiversity is vital to us humans, for we are a part of it. If the network breaks, the whole ecosystem suffers. And the more such "breaks", the greater the risk of a critical eco-catastrophe.

There are several levels of biodiversity:

• genetic diversity - diversity within a species

• species diversity

• diversity of ecosystems

But why is it so important to preserve biodiversity?

With the dawn of agriculture and animal husbandry, people began to make gradual changes in the balance of the ecosystem they inhabited. However, after the industrial revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, this balance was dramatically disrupted. As a result, nowadays, increasingly, more machines are entering human activities, including in the field of agriculture. And the mass production of monocultures, easily managed with the new machines, has become the standard form of agriculture. This is undoubtedly a progress of human ingenuity, but sometimes we need more time to realize the full scale of the impact of our activities.

As a result of human activity, huge areas have been deforested, which leads to the disappearance of the animal and plant species inhabiting them. Unsustainable practices are changing the way land is used - it is exploited for overproduction, treated with pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals, covered with cities, factories and roads, water resources are wasted and polluted.

Soil can recover over time as dead matter break down and contribute energy and nutrients to the ecosystem. But soil erodes up to 30 times faster than it recovers. Globally, erosion reduces annual harvests by 0.3%. At this rate, 10% of production could be lost by 2050. And the number of endangered animal species has increased from 5205 to 8462 since 1996.

And despite all the natural resources that people are trying to appropriate, it turns out, nowadays we rely on uniformity, rather than diversity, as far as our food is concerned. Humankind depends on a few basic plant species to feed itself. From more than 7000 edible plants, we use only about 30, while wheat, rice and corn account for 50% of the world's daily calories.

The United Nations has declared May 22 as International Day for Biological Diversity to increase understanding, awareness and commitment to conservation. This is the day on which the UN adopted the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992.

Governments and businesses are working to adopt more sustainable practices. With increasing pressure on them, many large companies today are trying to adopt the so-called green policies or sustainability policies. Financial interests are often in conflict with these new mindsets. At the same time, however, investments in green projects, renewable energy, carbon footprint reduction, waste reduction, and other similar initiatives, are becoming more common.

We can all contribute to the conservation of world's biodiversity by starting at the local level and from our own daily lives and work. We are sure many of you are already doing some of the things listed below, and not only them, but if you are wondering where to start from, here are some easy-to-follow tips:

• avoid excessive consumption

• recycle paper, plastic, metal and glass

• give clothes that you no longer wear to someone for whom they will be useful

• save water and electricity

• support local producers

• when gardening, use old varieties of vegetables and fruits

• apply the principles of sustainable agriculture - without chemical fertilizers, pesticides and leaving the soil exposed

• mulch your garden - whether you grow flowers or food

• compost your kitchen and garden waste

• do not remove all "weeds" in the garden - bees and other insects, important for plant survival, find food in them

• get involved in nature conservation campaigns

All these principles guide us at Botanica Life Foundation, in our daily activities in the garden, as well as in our training in sustainable agriculture and herbalism, in our work with children and youth, as well as in our personal lifes as team members.

Sources: 

Биоразнообразие: https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%B5, accessed on 19.04.2022 (in Bulgarian)

„Mасово изчезват растителни видове“: https://www.nationalgeographic.bg/a/masovo-izcezvat-rastitelni-vidove, accessed on 19.04.2022 (in Bulgarian)

Species Extinction – The Facts: https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/species_extinction_05_2007.pdf, accessed on 19.04.2022

“A call for governments to save soil”: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00158-8, accessed on 19.04.2022