The 1972UNESCO convention established that biological resources, such as plants, were the common heritage of mankind. These rules probably inspired the creation of great public banks of genetic resources, located outside the source-countries.
43、生物多樣性的益處之一：提供食物及預防災害
There are a multitude of benefits of biodiversity in the sense of one diverse group aiding another such as:
1.Resistance to catastrophe
Monoculture, lacking biodiversity, was a contributing factor to several agricultural disasters in history, including the Irish Potato Famine, the European wine industry collapse in the late 1800s, and the US Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic of 1970.Higher biodiversity controls the spread of certain diseases as viruses need adapt to infect different species.
2.Food and drink
Biodiversity provides food for humans. Although about 80percent of our food supply comes from just 20kinds of plants, humans use at least 40,000species of plants and animals a day. Many people around the world depend on these species for their food, shelter, and clothing. There is untapped potential for increasing the range of food products suitable for human consumption, provided that the high present extinction rate can be stopped.
44、生物多樣性的益處之二：提供藥物和工業原料
3.Medicines
A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, from biological sources; in most cases these medicines can not presently be synthesized in a laboratory setting. About 40%of the pharmaceuticals used in the US are manufactured using natural compounds found in plants, animals, and microorganisms. Moreover, only a small proportion of the total diversity of plants has been thoroughly investigated for potential sources of new drugs. Many drugs are also derived from microorganisms.
4.Industrial materials
A wide range of industrial materials are derived directly from biological resources. These include building materials, fibers, dyes, resins, gums, adhesives, rubber and oil. There is enormous potential for further research into sustainably utilizing materials from a wider diversity of organisms.
45、生物多樣性的益處之三：更好的作物多樣性
5.Better crop-varieties
For some food crops and other economic crops, wild varieties of the domesticated species can be reintroduced to form a better variety than the previous （domesticated） species. The economic impact is gigantic, for even crops as common as the potato （which was bred through only one variety, brought back from the Inca）; a lot more can come from these species. Wild varieties of the potato will all suffer enormously through the effects of climate change. A report by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research （CGIAR） describes the huge economic loss. Rice, which has been improved for thousands of years by humans, can through the same process regain some of its nutritional value that has been lost （a project is already being carried out to do just this）.
Crop diversity is also necessary to help the system recover when the dominant crop type is attacked by a disease.
46、生物多樣性的益處之四：生態服務及科研價值
6.Other ecological services
Biodiversity provides many ecosystem services that are often not readily visible. It plays a part in regulating the chemistry of our atmosphere and water supply. Biodiversity is directly involved in recycling nutrients and providing fertile soils. Experiments with controlled environments have shown that humans cannot easily build ecosystems to support human needs; for example, insect pollination cannot be mimicked by human-made construction, and that activity alone represents tens of billions of dollars in ecosystem services per annum to humankind.
7.Intellectual value
Through the field of bionics, considerable technological advancement has occurred which would not have without a rich biodiversity.
47、生物多樣性的益處之五：休閑、文化和審美價值
8.Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value
Many people derive value from biodiversity through leisure activities such as hiking in the countryside, bird-watching or natural history study.
Biodiversity has inspired musicians, painters, sculptors, writers and other artists. Many cultural groups view themselves as an integral part of the natural world and show respect for other living organisms.
Popular activities such as gardening, caring for aquariums and collecting butterflies are all strongly dependent on biodiversity. The number of species involved in such pursuits is in the tens of thousands, though the great majority does not enter mainstream commercialism.
The relationships between the original natural areas of these often “exotic” animals and plants and commercial collectors, suppliers, breeders, propagators and those who promote their understanding and enjoyment are complex and poorly understood. It seems clear, however, that the general public responds well to exposure to rare and unusual organisms—they recognize their inherent value at some level, even if they would not want the responsibility of caring for them. A family outing to the botanical garden or zoo is as much an aesthetic or cultural experience as it is an educational one.
Philosophically it could be argued that biodiversity has intrinsic aesthetic and/or spiritual value to mankind in and of itself. This idea can be used as a counterweight to the rather notion that tropical forests and other ecological realms are only worthy of conservation because they may contain medicines or useful products.
48、作物多樣性有助於其遭疾病侵襲後的恢複
Crop diversity is also necessary to help the system recover when the dominant crop type is attacked by a disease, for instance:
The Irish potato blight of 1846,which killed a million people and forced another million to emigrate, was the result of planting only two potato varieties, both of which were vulnerable.
When the rice grassy stunt virus struck rice fields from Indonesia to India in the 1970s, 6,273varieties were tested. Only one was luckily found to be resistant, a relatively feeble Indian variety, known to science only since 1966,
with the desired trait. It was hybridized with other varieties and now widely grown.
In 1970,coffee rust attacked coffee plantations in Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Central America. A resistant variety was found in Ethiopia, coffee’s presumed homeland, which mitigated the rust epidemic.
49、生物多樣性麵臨的威脅
During the last century, erosion of biodiversity has been increasingly observed. Some studies show that about one eighth known plant species is threatened with extinction. Some estimates put the loss at up to 14、0,000species per year （based on Species-area theory） and subject to discussion. This figure indicates unsustainable ecological practices, because only a small number of species come into being each year. Almost all scientists acknowledge that the rate of species loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction rates.
Declines in amphibian populations have been observed since 1980s. Because of the sensitivity of these organisms, they are regarded by many scientists as a marker for the overall health of an ecosystem. Their decline has led to concern about the general current state of biodiversity.
The factors that threaten biodiversity have been variously categorized. Jared Diamond describes an “Evil Quartet” of habitat destruction, overkill, introduced species, and secondary extensions. Edward Wilson prefers the acronym HIPPO, standing for Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, Population, and Overharvesting.
50、國際協議對生物多樣性的動態保護
New global agreements （e.g.Convention on Biological Diversity）, now give sovereign national rights over biological resources （not property）. The idea of static conservation of biodiversity is disappearing and being replaced by the idea of dynamic conservation, through the notion of resource and innovation.
The new agreements commit countries to conserve biodiversity, develop resources for sustainability and share the benefits resulting from their use. Under new rules, it is expected that bioprospecting or collection of natural products has to be allowed by the biodiversity-rich country, in exchange for a share of the benefits.
Sovereignty principles can rely upon what is better known as Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements （ABAs）. The Convention on Biodiversity spirit implies a prior informed consent between the source country and the collector, to establish which resource will be used and for what, and to settle on a fair agreement on benefit sharing. Bioprospecting can become a type of biopiracy when those principles are not respected.Uniform approval for use of biodiversity as a legal standard has not been achieved, however. At least one legal commentator has argued that biodiversity should not be used as a legal standard, arguing that the multiple layers of scientific uncertainty inherent in the concept of biodiversity will cause administrative waste and increase litigation without promoting preservation goals.
51、生物多樣性下降的原因
Some characterize loss of biodiversity not as ecosystem degradation but as conversion to trivial standardized ecosystems （e.g., monoculture following deforestation）. In some countries lack of property rights or access regulation to biotic resources necessarily leads to biodiversity loss （degradation costs having to be supported by the community）.
A September 14、,2007study conducted by the National Science Foundation found that biodiversity and genetic diversity are dependent upon each other—that diversity within a species is necessary to maintain diversity among species, and vice versa. According to the lead researcher in the study, Dr. Richard Lankau, “If any one type is removed from the system, the cycle can break down, and the community becomes dominated by a single species.”
52、外來物種對生物多樣性的威脅
The widespread introduction of exotic species by humans is a potent threat to biodiversity. When exotic species are introduced to ecosystems and establish self-sustaining populations, the endemic species in that ecosystem, that have not evolved to cope with the exotic species, may not survive. The exotic organisms may be either predators, parasites, or simply aggressive species that deprive indigenous species of nutrients, water and light. These exotic or invasive species often have features, due to their evolutionary background and new environment, which make them highly competitive; able to become well-established and spread quickly, reducing the effective habitat of endemic species.
As a consequence of the above, if humans continue to combine species from different ecoregions, there is the potential that the world’s ecosystems will end up dominated by relatively a few, aggressive, cosmopolitan “super-species”.
53、食品與生態
Many have challenged the notion that there is “vast untapped potential” for reducing humankind’s dependence on a relatively small number of domesticated plant and animal species. Jared Diamond, based on studies of the domestication of plants and animals, argued that the rarity of species suitable for domestication and their occurrence in just a few parts of the world, determined the limited number of locations in which major civilizations could arise. In recent times there have been many studies of minor food sources, but none of these sources have subsequently become major food crops.
54、適當技術AT的概念
Appropriate Technology （AT） is technology that is designed with special consideration to the environmental, cultural, social and economic aspects of the community it is intended for. With these goals in mind, AT typically requires fewer resources, is easier to maintain, and has a lower overall cost and less of an impact on the environment.
Proponents use the term to describe technologies which they consider to be suitable for use in developing nations or underdeveloped rural areas of industrialized nations, which they feel cannot operate and maintain high technology. Appropriate Technology usually prefers labor-intensive solutions over capital-intensive ones, although labor-saving devices are also used where this does not mean high capital or maintenance cost.
In practice, it is often something that might be described as using the simplest level of technology that can effectively achieve the intended purpose in a particular location. However, the terminology is not very precise.
55、適當技術AT的構成
E. F. Schumacher asserts that Appropriate technology, described in the book Small is Beautiful, tends to promote values such as health, beauty and permanence, in that order.
What exactly constitutes Appropriate Technology in any given case is a matter of debate, but generally the term is used by theorists to question high technology or what they consider to be excessive mechanization, human displacement, resource depletion or increased pollution associated with industrialization. The term has often, though not always, been applied to the situations of developing nations or underdeveloped rural areas of industrialized nations.
It could be argued that “Appropriate Technology” for a technologically advanced society may mean a more expensive, complex technology requiring expert maintenance and high energy inputs. However, this is not the usual meaning of the term.
56、適當能源技術
“Appropriate” energy technologies are especially suitable for isolated and/or small scale energy needs. However, high capital cost must be taken into account.
Electricity can be provided from solar cells （which are expensive initially, but simple）, wind power or micro hydro, with energy stored in batteries.
Biobutanol, biodiesel and straight vegetable oil can be appropriate, direct biofuels in areas where vegetable oil is readily available and cheaper than fossil fuels.
A generator （running on biofuels） can be run more efficiently if combined with batteries and an inverter; this adds significantly to capital cost but reduces running cost, and can potentially make this a much cheaper option than the solar, wind and micro-hydro options.
Biogas is another potential source of energy, particularly where there is an abundant supply of waste organic matter.
The term “soft energy technology” was coined by Amory Lovins to describe “appropriate” renewable energy.
57、人類中心說
What Humanist theories do not allow for is the fact that a system of ethics formulated from a human perspective may be entirely accurate; humans are not necessarily the centre of reality. The philosopher Baruch Spinoza argued that we tend to assess things wrongly in terms of their usefulness to us. Spinoza reasoned that if we were to look at things objectively we would discover that everything in the universe has a unique value. Likewise, it is possible that a human-centred or anthropocentric/androcentric ethic is not an accurate depiction of reality, and there is a bigger picture that we may or may not be able to understand from a human perspective.
Peter Vardy distinguished between two types of anthropocentrism. A strong thesis anthropocentric ethic argues that humans are at the centre of reality and it is right for them to be so. Weak thesis, however, argues that reality can only be interpreted from a human point of view, thus humans have to be at the centre of reality as they see it.
58、自然界中的利益
For something to require rights and protection intrinsically, it must have interests. Deep ecology is criticized for presuming that plants, for example, have their own interests. Deep ecologists claim to identify with the environment, and in doing so, criticize those who claim they have no understanding what the environment’s interests are. The criticism is that the interests that a deep ecologist purports to give to nature, such as growth, survival, balance are really human interests. “The earth is endowed with ‘wisdom’, wilderness equates with ‘freedom’, and life forms are said to emit ‘moral’ qualities.” It has also been argued that species and ecosystems themselves have rights. However, the overarching criticism assumes that humans, in governing their own affairs, are somehow immune from this same assumption, i.e. how can governing humans truly presume to understand the interests of the rest of humanity. While the deep ecologist critic would answer that the logical application of language and social mores would provide this justification, i.e. voting patterns etc, the deep ecologist would note that these “interests” are ultimately observable solely from the logical application of the behavior of the life form, which is the same standard used by deep ecologists to perceive the standard of interests for the natural world.
59、物種大小歧視
Biodiversity researcher Sean Nee points out that the vast majority of Earth’s biodiversity is microbial, and that contemporary biodiversity physics is “firmly fixated on the visible world” （Nee uses “visible” as a synonym for macroscopic）. For example, microbial life is very much more metabolically and environmentally diverse than multicellular life. Nee has stated:“On the tree of life, based on analyses of small-subunit ribosomal RNA, visible life consists of barely noticeable twigs”.
The size bias is not restricted to consideration of microbes. Entomologist Nigel Stork states that “to a first approximation, all multicellular species on Earth are insects”.
A reply to this, however, is that biodiversity conservation has never focused exclusively on visible （in this sense） species. From the very beginning, the classification and conservation of natural communities or ecosystem types has been a central part of the effort. The thought behind this has been that since invisible （in this sense） diversity is, due to lack of taxonomy, impossible to treat in the same manner as visible diversity, the best that can be done is to preserve a diversity of ecosystem types, thereby preserving as well as possible the diversity of invisible organisms.
60、有害野生動物管理
Nuisance wildlife management is the term given to the process of selective removal of problem individuals or populations of certain species of wildlife. Some species of wildife may become habituated to man’s presence causing property damage or risk transfer of disease to humans or pets （zoonosis）. Many wildlife species coexist with humans very successfully. In fact, commensal rodents have become more or less dependent on people.
Most wildlife species have the potential of becoming a nuisance. Whether or not a species becomes a pest can be directly correlated to the degree at which that animal can be tolerated by humans. For many people, squirrels feeding in their yards or gardens are not a problem; while at the same time, a neighbor may feel the squirrels are complete nuisances.
Common wildlife pests include squirrels, opossums, raccoons, bats, voles, deer, mice, coyotes, bears, ravens, seagulls, woodpeckers and pigeons. Some of these species are protected by state or federal regulations, such as bears, ravens, bats, deer, woodpeckers, and coyotes, and a permit may be required to control some species.
Wildlife species are usually only pests in certain situations, such as when their number becomes excessive in a particular area. Human change in the environment will often result in increased numbers of a species. For example, piles of scrap building material make excellent sites for rodents to frequent. Food left out for household pets is often equally attractive to some wildlife species. In these situations, the wildlife has suitable food and habitat and will usually become a nuisance.
61、控製野生動物危害
The primary objective of any control program should be to reduce damage in a practical, humane and environmentally acceptable manner. Wildlife managers and wildlife control operators base control methods on the habits and biology of the animals causing damage, in order that their efforts will be more effective and will serve to maximize safety to the environment, humans and other animals.
A key to controlling wildlife damage is prompt and accurate determination of which animal is causing the damage. Even someone with no training or experience can often identify the pest by thoroughly examining the damaged area. Because feeding indications of many wildlife species are similar, other signs—such as droppings, tracks, burrows, nests or food caches—are usually needed to make a positive species identification.
62、控製有害野生動物的合適方法
After you properly identify the wildlife pest, you can choose control methods appropriate to the animal species involved. Improper control methods may harm but not kill the animal, causing it to become leery of those and other methods in the future. For example, using traps and poison baits improperly or in the wrong situation may teach the animal that the control method is harmful. This may make the animal difficult to control later, even with the correct method. Four steps lead to a successful nuisance wildlife control program:
1.Correctly identify the species causing the problem.
2.Alter the habitat, if possible, to make the area less attractive to the wildlife pest.
3.Use a control method appropriate to the location, time of year, and other environmental conditions.
4.Monitor the site for re-infestation in order to determine if additional control is necessary.
The most commonly used methods for controlling nuisance wildlife around homes and gardens include exclusion, habitat modification, repellents, toxic baits, glue boards, traps and frightening.
63、轉基因生物
A Genetically Modified Organism （GMO） is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using the genetic engineering techniques generally known as recombinant DNA technology. Genetically Modified （GM） crops today have become a common source for genetic pollution, not only of wild varieties but also of other domesticated varieties derived from relatively natural hybridization.
It is being said that genetic erosion coupled with genetic pollution is destroying that needed unique genetic base thereby creating an unforeseen hidden crisis which will result in a severe threat to our food security for the future when diverse genetic material will cease to exist to be able to further improve or hybridize weakening food crops and livestock against more resistant diseases and climatic changes.