Celebrating Animals on Earth Day: Why Conservation and Biodiversity Are So Important
On Earth Day, topics like renewable energy, plastic pollution, and climate literacy are often at the forefront of discussion. While they are all crucial considerations, two equally important and interrelated topics are conservation and biodiversity. This Earth Day, let’s take a look at what each entails and why these concepts are vital for life on our planet.
Why Is Conservation Important?
The National Geographic Society defines conservation as “the care and protection of these [natural] resources so that they can persist for future generations,” including “maintaining diversity of species, genes, and ecosystems, as well as functions of the environment.” As stated in the definition, a major goal of conservation is to allow resources to persist for the future. The key is sustainability.
Whether it’s ecological, natural resource, or animal conservation, maintaining Earth’s resources is critical for our future—and for the quality of our lives today. Conservation allows our environment to function naturally and our animals to avoid species extinction. It is especially urgent now, as we are currently undergoing our planet’s sixth major extinction event.
When species go extinct, we lose the benefits they provide, as well as our opportunity to appreciate them. They are struck from existence forevermore. As species continue to disappear, our biodiversity plummets, with disastrous and far-reaching consequences.
Why Is Biodiversity Important?
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on our planet. We have a dazzling diversity of species on Earth; estimates put the number of species currently in existence at around 8.7 million. Though such a large number may seem to dismiss the importance of one species’ existence, in actuality, each species is an integrated and significant part of an incredibly important whole.
“Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms,” writes the Royal Society, “we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat.” Put simply, biodiversity is a need.
It’s been said that variety is the spice of life. Variety is also the sustainer of life.
This is why conservation and biodiversity are so important, and why we should be celebrating, appreciating, and protecting animals on Earth Day—and every day. Animal health is irrevocably connected to ecosystem health and to human health. Animals are also part of our identity and culture, and our attitude toward them is a reflection of the way we value our planet.
Here at International Veterinary Outreach (IVO), we’re on a mission to create a healthy global community free of animal suffering. We want to improve the lives of people and animals worldwide, and you can help us do it! If you’d like to show your values on Earth Day (or any day), donate now to support our conservation efforts and our other animal health programs around the globe! Find out how you can get involved, sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date, and learn more about our decade of positive impact!
