Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nafees
Biodiversity is simply a term used to describe biological variation or life color. The importance of it can be effectively conveyed through a bridge suspended in the air. The bridge is supported by several ropes to keep it hanging in the air from different angles and sharing the load. Combining all of these ropes into one could make the bridge unstable and short-lived. In fact, various creatures come together with a variety of traits, skills, and capacities to produce a variety of biological acts on the planet and manage to run a particular ecosystem. When a species or group of species is eliminated, the ecosystem’s ability to produce falls.
The loss of a species disrupts the food chain and has a detrimental impact on the availability of food in an ecosystem. Climate change and environmental pollution damage the composition of species in an ecosystem and create biological and chemical complexity. A study conducted in 2021 revealed that climate change could result in the disappearance of 50% of plants and animal species from the earth’s surface. Globally, 1.8% of species were eliminated in 1800, 4.9% in 1900, and 13.6% in 2000. 17 percent of species are predicted to go extinct by the year 2100. To maintain the natural functioning of a particular ecosystem, we must address these problems properly.
There are seven main types of living things in Pakistan, each of which has several subcategories. There are 196 mammals, 176 reptiles, 666 birds, 14 amphibians, 625 fish, 6,000 plants, and 20,000 invertebrates. In Pakistan, there is a threat to twenty mammals, twenty-five birds, six reptiles, five fish species, and eight marine mollusks.
The question arises as how climate change negatively affects biodiversity. The reduction of biodiversity can be attributed to several factors. Examples include changes in rain patterns, floods, wildfires, extreme weather, and habitat degradation.
Loss of habitat: Natural and altered habitats are being lost, fragmented, and degraded as a result of climate change. This includes over-exploration of surface water bodies, depletion of natural resources, reduction of fertile soils, and forest shrinkage. Invasive species may flourish in their new habitat, whereas native species may become extinct due to habitat change brought on by climate change and human-induced consequences.
Eighty percent of Pakistan’s area is arid and semi arid with very less forest cover. Initially, Pakistan’s forest cover was about 5 percent. Which is toward decline due to over cutting and forest fire. Climate change poses a serious threat to 132 thousand mangrove forests and 28.5 million acres of range land. Pakistan is the second-largest country in the world in terms of deforestation. Mangrove forests in Pakistan are also declining very rapidly. During the 1970s and 1990s, Mangrove forests shrank from 26,000 square kilometers to 13,000 square kilometers during 1970s and 1990s. The northern mountainous areas are home to up to 80% of plant species. Pakistan’s woodlands were already in short supply. The overall forest area is quickly decreasing as a result of widespread deforestation. Biodiversity is therefore seriously threatened. Species extinction is anticipated to result from Pakistan’s declining tree cover. Markhors, woodpeckers, squirrels, snails, moths, ferns, and mushrooms are among the threatened species.
Impacts of climate change: Many wildlife species are now in danger of extinction, particularly in wetland areas. This covers reptiles, sharks, whales, and other aquatic creatures. Extreme weather phenomena like heat waves, flash floods, droughts, cyclones, hailstorms, dust storms, and heavy precipitation events have also become more often and intense due to climate change. The plant or animal, its habitat, and its sustenance are all destroyed by these occurrences. Because plants and animals can only grow and reproduce within certain temperature and precipitation limits, climate change can have a wide range of effects on biodiversity. Additionally, they rely on the constancy of their food source. In the same way, a significant aspect of climate change that negatively effects living things is the rise in temperature. Every organism needs a specific temperature in order to develop and reproduce. Temperature fluctuations can have a detrimental effect on an organism’s health, preventing it from having offspring or, if it does, causing them to be weak and ill. Heat-related mortality of birds are a typical incidence. Additionally, it has been shown that the majority of birds lay their eggs in the early spring or midsummer. As a result of the fact that the temperature has increased. As temperatures rise further caused by climate change, eggs become worse. This is thought to have contributed to the reduction in domestic sparrow populations. The seasons are also becoming more intense due to climate change. In winter, there is a cold wave, and in summer, there is a hot wave. it was normal. However, it has now been noted that these waves last longer than usual. Small animals and birds frequently cannot handle it and died as a result. The cause is also responsible for the decline in insect populations, in which the bees are at the top. The bees perish if there is a high temperature and little water available. This also applies to other insects. Plant different types have also shown signs of decline. The plants are also significantly impacted by the absence of water and warmth. For many years, we have seen that the mountains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa burn during the summer. which continues for a few days. The primary cause of this is the drying out of grasses and small plants brought on by high temperatures and delayed precipitation. When the fire eventually makes its way to them, it swiftly spreads and becomes a wildfire. This harms a lot of plants and animals.
Pakistan’s efforts: With separate ministries and departments at the federal and provincial levels, Pakistan has a solid institutional framework. In 1992, Pakistan collaborated with the IUCN to develop the National Conservation Strategy (NCS). Provincial conservation plans were later created as well. Unfortunately, these strategies were not applied effectively. A comprehensive biodiversity policy-2012 and biodiversity action plan-2015 were prepared by Pakistan in 2012. More than 13% of Pakistan’s land is covered by protected areas, and the country created its first marine protected area in 2017 close to Astola Island. Mangrove forests have been extensively regenerated in Pakistan for the benefit of the ecosystem and economy. Pakistan’s biodiversity is being protected by organizations like the Himalayan Wildlife Foundation (HWF), the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The Author is Department of environmental sciences, university of Peshawar
