Introduction
According to Alison and Bull biodiversity is the existence of different kinds of animals and plants which together make a good and healthy environment (2007). Nowadays there are many threats to the biodiversity in Namibia. This is because everyone is now trying to own his/her own land for a specific purpose. Also there are too many human activities e.g farming and industries due to the increase of people at a certain place. This essay will explain five threats to biodiversity in Namibia.
Desertification
Biodiversity is being threatened by the damages that are made to the environment. Desertification is a land degradation resulting from unsuitable human activities interacting with a dry and highly variable climate (Byer, 1997). The damages include overgrazing, caused by keeping too many livestock e.g goats, sheep and cattle at the small place. Overgrazing leads to soil erosion and to some of the living organisms e.g insects and ants that live in the grass going extinct. Cutting down of trees at a faster rate than they are planted also threatens the biodiversity. This is because it forces some species to go extinct, since they cannot adapt to the change at that specific place. The more the damages to the environment, the more the biodiversity is being threatened.
Climate change
Climate change acts as a big threat to the biodiversity. The change in climate is caused by human activities and sometimes nature. When burning fossil fuels and during industrial processes, the smoke that is released goes into the atmosphere and mix with the clouds leading to acid rain, since the smoke contain harmful gases. Acid rain collides building and damages trees, and this threatens people and animals to leave their places since they cannot adapt to that specific change. Bellard, Bertelsmeter, Leadley, Thuiller and Courchamp indicated that
“Because of climate changes, species may no longer be adapted to the set of environmental conditions in a given region and could therefore fall outside its climatic niche” (2012, p.365).
Change in temperature is a also one of the changes to climate. When the temperature changes this leads to some species being forced to leave their places to places where they can adapt and survive well. Some species are used to a cold temperature and when the temperature rise and became warm, they disappear since they cannot tolerate to the rise in temperature. Some species survive well in warm temperature and when the temperature decrease and became cold they disappear or die because they are not used to cold temperature , they are being threatened.
Pollution
Polluting the environment is also one of the threats to biodiversity in Namibia. Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment (National Geographic Society, 2011, para. 5). There are many types of pollution in Namibia for example water pollution, air pollution and land pollution. Water pollution is caused by dumping wastes or chemicals in the water. This leads to water being unsafe to use and unsuitable for aquatic animals and plants to live in. Polluted water leads to death of aquatic animals and plants that live in water and it also causes diseases like cholera when used by people. People, plants and animals are being threatened and force to leave that certain place to look for places with clean and fresh water. With a number of vehicles and industries increasing in Namibia this leads to too much smoke that contain harmful gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide being released into the atmosphere causing air pollution. Due to polluted air, biodiversity is being threatened because people, animals and even plants are taking in harmful gases that are dangerous to their health. Biodiversity is also being threatened by land pollution, when people dump wastes materials and chemicals on the land that are harmful to living organisms. Some of those chemicals accumulate into the soil making unsuitable for growing plants. Pollution is a big threat to biodiversity since it changes and disturbs the environment.
Population growth
The growth of the population of people at a certain place threatens the biodiversity. As a result of push and pull factors that forces people to migrate, this leads to a high number of people at certain place. As people became many at a certain place, the more the threats to biodiversity. Byers stated that “Because people require resources in order to live and develop, population growth is an ultimate root cause, a driving force of the overexploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation” (1997, p.xi). When people are becoming too many at a certain place, human activities also increase, this is to say there will be more industries and land will be cleared for agricultural purposes. Since the land is cleared for agricultural purposes, this leads to some species that live on the bushes and trees being threatened to go extinct since they have nowhere to live any more because their home are destroyed. The growth of the population of people at a certain place comes with a large number of vehicles which release harmful gases into the atmosphere leading to air pollution and to the disturbance of the environment. The larger the number of people at a particular place, the more the human activities and the more the biodiversity is being threatened.
Predators
Biodiversity can also be threatened by predators. According to Waters and Bull, predators are animals that kill and eat other animals (2007). However, people can also be predators because they hunt wild animals for meat. Examples of predators are lions, tigers, wolfs, hyenas,vultures and cats. In addition to this there are some plants that acts as predators because poison other plant do death. In addition, it is widely reported that some species are threatening many resident species with extinction(Elton, 1958). Animals which are being hunt by other animals or by people get so scared and end up disappearing since they cannot tolerate the situation of being hunt. Some of the animals depends on other animals and some on plants for survival and if people keep cutting down plants and hunting wild animals, those species will get finished up not existing any more leading to life those who depends on those species for survival being threatened. The more the predators the more the extinction of different kind of species.
Conclusion
This essay has explained desertification, climate change, pollution, population growth and predators as threats to the biodiversity in Namibia. They threaten the biodiversity since they disturb the environment and they cause extinction of many species.
Reference list
- Bellard, C., Bertelsmeter, C., Leadley, P., Thuiller, W., & Courchamp, F. (2012). Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity. Ecology letter, 15(4), 365-377.
- Byers, A.B.(1997). Environmental threats and opportunities in Namibia: A comprehensive assessment. Research Discussion Paper No. 21. Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Windhoek.
- Elton, C.S. (1958). The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants. London: Methuen.
- National Geographic Society. (2011). Pollution. Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeodraphic.org/encyclopedia/pollution/
- Waters, A., & Bull, V. (Eds.). (2007). In Oxford Student’s Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press.