Editorial – Time to celebrate biodiversity, before it is too late

By
30 March 2014

Biologists estimate current yearly losses of species to be 1,000 times higher than historic rates.

Linguists predict that by the end of the 21st century, 50 to 90% of the world’s languages will disappear. These findings, from a recently published scientific article, point to a strong correlation between biodiversity and language extinction. This sounds like a final wake-up call: what kind of world we are heading for, destroying our nature and cultures at such a massive speed?

We all seem to agree that biodiversity is not only beautiful but also essential to keep the global ecosystem going. So why aren’t we making some radical decisions? Why aren’t we doing something concrete, both as individual citizens and as a society? Is this tremendous loss of biodiversity inevitable? No, it is not.

So let us fight against the forces that undermine biodiversity and care for the great variety of plants and animals that still exist today. Let us enjoy the colour, flavour, texture and nutritional value of our food. Let us remember what happened after hurricane Mitch in Central America: the greater the variety of trees and crops on farms, the less damage was incurred by farmers. Biodiversity offers an insurance against an unpredictable climate, far superior to the use of climate-smart “miracle seeds”. So let us value the important role that family farming, fishing and herding communities play in maintaining global biodiversity. They hold precious knowledge and are rendering a great service to humanity. Paradoxically, little value is given to what these producers do: their approach to agriculture is considered “peripheral” to the global economy.

Biodiversity goes hand in hand with multifunctional family farming and is inextricably linked with farmers’ knowledge, language and culture. If family farming ceases to exist as a way of life, the consequences for our food system, the world’s biodiversity, our languages and culture will be severe. Better reverse the dramatic decline before it is too late. Long live biodiversity, long live family farming!

Edith van Walsum
director ILEIA