Don’t feel helpless in face of global change

Aug 19 2008 by Francesca Craggs, The Journal

BIODIVERSITY is the variety of life on Earth – the whole range of plants, animals and fungi and the places in which they live.

Biodiversity is vital to us all and provides many of life’s essentials we take for granted:

It provides our food;

It regulates the Earth’s atmosphere and provides us with oxygen;

It is an important source of medicinal drugs and the open spaces where we get exercise and relaxation;

The raw materials on which our economy is based and acts as a draw for tourists;

It gives inspiration and aesthetic pleasure, is essential for pollination, pest control, control of flood water, pollution control and protection against natural hazards.

The North East is lucky to have a wealth of biodiversity from the North Sea and its coastline to England’s last wilderness, the high Pennine moors.

The region also supports many of the UK’s most important wildlife habitats and associated species, for example it is home to 90% of England’s black grouse population and 19% of the UK’s upland heaths.

Yet as a result of the interaction between humans and the natural world much of what we see today is only a small fragment of our past.

We cannot ignore the impact we have on biodiversity. The abundance of species has declined globally by 40% between 1970 and 2000.

Since 2000, 36 million hectares of primary forest have been lost worldwide each year.

Closer to home, species such as the great yellow bumblebee have become extinct while others, including the water vole and red squirrel, remain in serious decline and might yet be lost.

The North East Biodiversity Forum, with financial support from Natural England and the Environment Agency, has published a useful guide that shows how you can do your bit.

While single handedly you cannot stop global warming or save the rainforest, you can still make a difference. Small steps can add up, especially if enough people join in. The North East Biodiversity Forum is a partnership of more than 25 organisations covering Northumberland, County Durham, Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear with a common interest in conserving and improving the biodiversity of the region.

The guide gives tips such as: living a green life, how to spend your money on companies and products which benefit the environment; improving the biodiversity of your own backyard with allotments, window containers or a garden; becoming a member of or volunteering for an environmental or wildlife organisation; making your voice heard about things which are damaging the environment; reporting wildlife you see to the Eye Project, at www.eyeproject.org.uk

Copies of the North East Biodiversity Forum’s leaflet Making A Difference To Life can be downloaded at www.nebiodiversity.org.uk/docs/173.pdf For more information about the North East Biodiversity Forum visit www.nebiodiversity.org.uk