Module 8: Planetary Health Quiz

Module 8: Planetary Health: Biodiversity and Climate Change

• Learning Outcomes:
  • Determine the interconnectedness of society, environment, and health.
  • Identify the causes of climate change.
  • Assess the various impacts of climate change (economic, geopolitical, biological, meteorological, etc.).
  • Apply STS concepts to the issue of climate change.

Biodiversity

• Biological Diversity: The variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part. This includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.

Main Types of Biodiversity

• Genetic Diversity: Variability within species. Organisms of the same species differ in their genetic makeup.
• Species Diversity: Variability between species. Variety and abundance of different species in a given area.
• Ecosystem Diversity: Variety among ecosystems and the processes occurring in those areas.
• Functional Diversity: Biological and functional diversity.

Key Processes and Factors Influencing Biodiversity

• Higher altitude = lower biodiversity; temperature extremes = lower biodiversity
• Temperature, amount of light, latitude, and altitude affect biodiversity.
• Rate of nutrient cycling, endemism, size of area, and topography influence biodiversity.
• Human activities (pollution, competition with other species for resources) negatively impact biodiversity.

Biodiversity in the Philippines

• Megadiverse country with 52,177 described species.
• Biodiversity hotspot.
• High endemism (half of the species are found nowhere else on earth).

Uniqueness of Philippine Biodiversity (Endemism)

• High percentages of endemic species across different taxa (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, flora).
• Specific examples of endemic species (e.g., Tamaraw, Philippine cockatoo, Philippine crocodile, big-eyed frog, pitcher plant) and their approximate percentages are provided.

Why is Biodiversity Important?

• Support system that enabled different civilizations to flourish.
• Foundation of human existence..
• Has utilitarian/instrumental/extrinsic value (practical use/application); for example food, medicine, energy (coal, wind energy, etc.).
• Has inherent value (existence).

Types of Ecosystem Services

• Provisioning Services: Products from ecosystems (e.g., genetic resources, food, fiber, fresh water, timber).
• Utilitarian Value: Examples include:
  • Source of food
  • Source of medicines (e.g., Berberine, Bromelain, Gossypol)
  • Source of energy (e.g., coal, wind, hydropower, geothermal energy)
• Cultural Services: Non-material benefits from ecosystems (e.g., spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, aesthetic experience, knowledge systems, social relations, aesthetic values).
• Examples of Aesthetic/Cultural Benefits: Hiking, wildlife viewing, ecotourism, pet keeping, gardening, bird watching.
• Supporting Services: Necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services. Includes biomass production, production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention, and nutrient cycling.
• Examples of ecosystem services includes photosynthesis and nutrient cycling.
• Regulating Services: Regulation of climate, water, and some human diseases.

Threats to Biodiversity

• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Building of structures impacting biodiversity.
• Overexploitation: Overharvesting of resources faster than species can reproduce.
• Pollution: Toxic chemicals enter ecosystems; nutrient loading.
• Invasive Species: Non-native species introduced threatening local biodiversity.
• Climate Change: Increase in greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming and extreme weather events.
• Species Extinction: Failure to adapt to changing environment.
• IUCN's Red List Categories: Provides classifications of species based on risk of extinction. These classifications include Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LC), and Data Deficient (DD). Not Evaluated (NE) is a category for species not yet assessed.

Conservation of Biodiversity

• In Situ Conservation: Protecting and conserving species in their natural habitat.
• Example: Mt. Pulag National Park.
• Ex-Situ Conservation: Protecting and conserving species outside their natural habitat.
• Example: Botanic garden.
• International Agreements: Conservation and biodiversity protection measures (e.g., Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, and Cartagena Protocol) and Philippine laws exist to conserve wildlife (e.g., Republic Act No. 9147 for Wildlife Resource Conservation and Protection Act; Republic Act No. 2590 on the protection of game and fish).
• National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (1992): Establishes and defines the protected areas system.

Climate Change

• Long-term changes in the Earth's weather patterns. Refers to statistically significant changes in climate for continuous periods (e.g. decades).
• Weather: Condition of the air or atmosphere at different regions of Earth.
• Climate: General weather pattern for a given region.

Causes of Climate Change

• Natural Causes:

  • Volcanic Eruptions: Volcanic gases and ash block sunlight, causing temporary cooling.
  • Orbital Changes (Milankovitch Cycles): Changes in Earth's orbit and tilt affect the amount of solar radiation received.
  • Carbon Dioxide Theory: Increased CO2 levels due to the burning of fossil fuels.

• Human Activities (Greenhouse Gases):

  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
  • Methane (CH4)
  • Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
  • Hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons
  • Water Vapor

Impacts of Climate Change

• Rising average temperatures, rising sea levels, changes in rainfall patterns, expansion of disease carriers, destruction of coral reefs, increased pressure on groundwater supplies, and disruption of food supplies.

IPCC Conclusion

• Scientific consensus that human-caused greenhouse gases are the dominant cause of observed warming since the 20th century. Anthropogenic drivers are also influential in this conclusion.

Global Anthropogenic GHG Emissions (2005)

• A breakdown of emissions by sector (e.g., International Bunkers, Waste, etc.).

Adapting Biodiversity Under Climate Change

• Hopkin's principles: Conserving existing biodiversity, reducing pressures, resilient ecosystems, landscape linkages, informed decisions, and adaptation-mitigation harmonization.

Effects of Climate Change in Society

• Impacts on basic elements of people's lives.
• Impacts on food resources (declining yields, water shortages).
• Impacts associated with melting glaciers, declining crop yields, vector-borne diseases, and species extinction.
• Also includes mentions of El Niño and La Niña phenomena.