WRIT 150 University of Southern California The Decline of Biodiversity Presentation I will upload the file for the oral presentation/powerpoint guidelines!

WRIT 150 University of Southern California The Decline of Biodiversity Presentation I will upload the file for the oral presentation/powerpoint guidelines! The powerpoint is supposed to be an abbreviated version of my final assignment paper, which I will also upload! Madison DeCero
Professor Gorski
WRIT150
06/28/2020
The Decline of Biodiversity
Biodiversity has a special correlation to humanity because it is the foundation of the issue
associated with the ecosystem, which provides people with basic needs to facilitate their
survival. It denotes the variety of life forms on the planet at different levels, and it encompasses
the ecological, evolutionary, and cultural processes that help sustain life. Biodiversity
encompasses not only plant and animal species perceived as endangered but also other living
organisms, including humans and microorganisms, such as microbes. Arguably, the availability
of breathable air, drinkable water, and productive soils are a manifestation of the existence of life
on the planet. In this regard, the impacts of human activities on this system directly affects
humanity. Additionally, human beings have the power to influence biodiversity, either positively
or negatively. The different ways that the global populations and indigenous communities
approach biodiversity and the results of their interventions demonstrate how humanity can use its
power to impact the ecosystem.
Biodiversity has numerous direct and indirect benefits to humanity today and in the
future. For starters, it allows people to fulfil basic needs that they need for survival, including
shelter, food, and medication. Additionally, it enables crucial processes to occur, including
pollination, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and seed dispersal. These processes are essential for
the success of human activities, such as agriculture and food production. Besides its economic
benefits, biodiversity has cultural benefits to communities across the globe. Indigenous
communities are among the groups in society that demonstrate the importance of biodiversity as
a cultural tool. The community members have a special relationship with nature because it
provides them with tools to perform their spiritual practices. Most of these communities rely on
biodiversity for survival, and any change in the system affects their lifestyles. Therefore,
biodiversity is essential to the survival of humanity because it influences vital processes needed
to sustain living organisms.
Despite the importance of biodiversity and existing measures to protect it, it continues
declining due to numerous threats associated with human intervention. Firstly, climate change is
a threat to global efforts to conserve biodiversity. Changes in climate have altered the ecosystem
throughout history, contributing to the extinction of some plant and animal species. However,
recent climate changes arising from human activities are affecting life on the planet at an
unsustainable rate and a threat to future generations. For instance, the emission of harmful gases
is contributing to global warming that has a direct relationship to the melting of ice in the arctic.
Also, global warming is contributing to the rising temperatures in seas and oceans. These
changes directly influence marine life because they create unfavorable environments for certain
animal species and lead to a shift of vegetation zones (Nature Trust British Columbia, 2020).
Therefore, climate change is contributing to the redistribution of species in the ecosystem,
forcing them to adjust to new environments while those that cannot adjust risk extinction.
Deforestation is another direct threat to biodiversity that is causing the extinction of plant
and animal species across the globe. Even though governments across worldwide have
established measures to protect forests, the demand for paper and timber encourages individuals
to engage in unsustainable practices against federal policies. Likewise, frequent wildfires
resulting from human activities are another threat to natural forests. The World Wildlife Fund
(2020) claims that the planet loses about 18 million acres of forest annually due to human
practices, such as logging. Hence, human practices are contributing to deforestation that is
leading to the destruction of ecosystems. For instance, the Amazon forest is home to diverse
plant and animal species that are extinct in other places, yet the region is declining due to human
intervention. Continued deforestation despite existing efforts to conserve forests worldwide
shows how managing biodiversity is a challenge to humanity.
Additionally, biodiversity is under threat due to overexploitation arising from the use of
resources to unsustainable capacities. For instance, while technology advancements have
improved operations in the marine industry, they have contributed to overfishing that is leading
to the loss of biodiversity. Governments have established standards to control fishing, including
specifying the net sizes used in seas. Even though these policies aim at discouraging the fishing
of endangered species, it contributes to discarding unwanted catch. Likewise, overgrazing has
adverse effects on wild animals because it contributes to the decrease in their population sizes.
Overexploitation of resources arises from for-profit practices adopted by companies across the
globe to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals. Nonetheless, humanity has little control
over the use of resources due to increased capitalism and the desire to optimize profitability with
less regard to its consequences in the future.
The poaching of plants and animals is another threat to biodiversity because it exposes
endangered species to extinction. The key reasons for poaching are for trade, food, and lack of
proper regulations. Trade arises from the lucrative market for products obtained from endangered
species, such as horns and skin. Restrictions on products obtained endangered plant and animal
species increase their demand and make them expensive. The high demand and profitability
encourage people to navigate government restrictions and continue poaching endangered plant
and animal species. On other occasions, poaching might occur when people hunt wild game
considered as endangered species for food. This might arise from poverty arising from droughts
or other natural resources that lead to poverty. Besides, poaching occurs in most countries
because governments fail to enforce existing regulations due to the corruption of officials.
Hence, market demand is a powerful force that encourages poaching and hinders efforts to
conserve the ecosystem.
Furthermore, biodiversity is in decline due to pollution, which has far-reaching impacts
on the ecosystem. The burning of fossil fuels has raised concerns over the years due to its effects
on the atmosphere. According to the Nature Trust British Columbia (2020), gas from fossil fuels
remains in the air and combines with water particles. Then, it falls to the ground as acid rain,
which acidifies water bodies and fertile soils. In this regard, pollution contributes to the
slowdown of forest growth and exposes endangered species to extinction.
Furthermore, the increased use of chemicals in the agricultural industry contributes to the
degradation of soil and water, creating an unfavorable environment for some plant and animal
species. Pollution continues to be uncontrolled because countries have failed to adopt sustainable
practices due to issues concerning their costs and efficiency. Therefore, pollution continues to
make global efforts to conserve biodiversity futile and ineffective in making the world better for
future generations.
Governments worldwide are vital stakeholders in protecting biodiversity from declining.
In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the consequences of unsustainable
activities on the well being of humanity and economic development. Consequently,
policymakers are establishing standards and regulations to prevent further degradation of
biodiversity and achieve environmental sustainability. There exist regulations at the local and
international levels aimed at achieving sustainability and helping improve the ecosystem for the
benefit of future generations. These policies have broad coverage, including habitat change,
resource consumption, pollution, and climate change, with the former altering the ecosystem and
contributing to the loss of biodiversity. Resource consumption entails the exploitation of natural
resources, such as energy and species, beyond renewable limits. Policies concerning pollution
entail the release of harmful chemicals to the air, water, or soil. Furthermore, lawmakers are
establishing regulations aimed at curbing further climate change through forestation policies.
However, government efforts have been ineffective in protecting biodiversity from
further degradation over the years. For instance, despite existing regulations aimed at preventing
deforestation, people continue cutting trees globally. Likewise, companies have failed to adopt
measures to reduce the emission of harmful gasses to the atmosphere due to the fear that they
will lose profitability. Similarly, lucrative markets for products obtained from endangered plant
and animal species increases demand and contributes to poaching despite federal restrictions on
the practice. On sustainable energy, governments are directly contributing to the decline of
biodiversity because they encourage the exploitation of natural resources instead of investing in
renewable sources. Therefore, government efforts continue proving to be futile in addressing the
threats of biodiversity and preserving the ecosystem for future generations.
Despite the challenges associated with conserving biodiversity, the situation is not
hopeless because governments can learn from indigenous communities to achieve a sustainable
solution. Indigenous communities are key stakeholders of biodiversity due to its importance to
their culture, religion, and livelihood. While industrialization and globalization have led to the
development of practices that threaten the ecosystem, native tribes continue to engage in
practices that help them conserve the environment. For instance, they still plant indigenous crop
varieties and rare livestock breeds that are almost becoming extinct in the modern world
(Swiderska, 2020). Additionally, they engage in agricultural practices with minimal interference
in the natural landscape. They continue to uphold these practices today in the territories where
they live. It is evident that while diversity is deteriorating in other places, it is declining less
rapidly in areas inhabited by native tribes. Therefore, traditional knowledge can help mitigate the
decline of biodiversity across the globe.
Nonetheless, indigenous communities continue experiencing challenges from external
factors, making the conservation of the ecosystem a challenge. Among the issues that are
hindering native tribes from conserving biodiversity is the lack of enough rights to control their
land and resources. For instance, even though native tribes have special rights over their land
compared to other communities, they lack enough representation in conversations concerning
environmental conservation. On most occasions, they do not participate in national or
international programs that make decisions concerning biodiversity. The lack of participation of
indigenous communities in biodiversity dialogues allows governments to establish initiatives
without traditional knowledge of conserving biodiversity. Policymakers are less likely to develop
sustainable solutions to threats of biodiversity due to their lack of expertise in the area.
Therefore, policymakers need to adopt traditional knowledge when making decisions concerning
biodiversity rather than alienating them from global platforms aimed at conserving the ecosystem
to achieve sustainability.
Conclusively, even though biodiversity continues experiencing threats arising from
external forces, the continued resilience of indigenous populations in conserving the ecosystem
offer hope for the challenging situation. Indeed, climate change, deforestation, overexploitation,
poaching, and pollution continue to hinder the efforts of governments worldwide to prevent
biodiversity from further decline. These factors threaten biodiversity despite restrictions and
standards aimed at conserving animal and plant species from extinction. Even though the
situation might appear as hopeless, traditional knowledge from indigenous communities offer
hope because biodiversity is declining less rapidly in their conservations.
References
Nature Trust British Columbia. (2020). Threats to biodiversity. The Nature Trust of British
Columbia. Retrieved from https://www.naturetrust.bc.ca/conserving-land/threats-tobiodiversity
Swiderska, K. (2020). Protecting indigenous cultures is crucial for saving the world’s
biodiversity. International Institute for Environment and Development. Retrieved from
https://www.iied.org/protecting-indigenous-cultures-crucial-for-saving-worldsbiodiversity
World Wildlife Fund. (2020). Deforestation and forest degradation. World Wildlife Fund.
Retrieved from https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forestdegradation
Writing 150: Issues in Sustainability
Summer 2020, Gorski
Guidelines for Oral Presentation
The oral presentation will be an abbreviated form of your final paper’s argument.
The purpose of the presentation is to get clear about the building blocks of your
argument and how best to organize them. It is also an excellent opportunity for
getting feedback about your ideas. The Oral Presentation is worth 5% of your
grade.
ORAL PRESENTATION: 10-15 Minutes.
I strongly suggest you practice your delivery and clock yourself. Make a plan
which realistically fits within the time constraint. Here is my suggested format:
Use either PowerPoint or Prezi.
a) brief overview of topic; state Thesis
b) rough plan of your argument, which may include history of the problem,
causes, pros and cons, chief claims, key points of evidence
c) your conclusions—impact and implications (the so-what factor)
d) take questions
You may adapt this format to the specific nature of your project, but please leave
a few minutes at the end for discussion. The other students will be interested in
your ideas and will want to exchange with you.
A FEW ADDITIONAL GUIDES
You may use visuals as a means of supporting evidence. Be judicious: visuals can
be a powerful form of pathos, but don’t let pathos overpower your presentation.
For your individual slides, be economical with your messaging. Your audience
will not be able to process large blocks of text, so be concise. You want each slide
to get one main idea across, which you can then further elaborate on.
For your thesis slide, remember to formulate it as a debate.
Audience Members
As your classmates deliver their talks, you have a job as an audience member to show
your active interest and give your undivided attention.
During the Q&A segment, please have a question in mind for the presenter.

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