Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Today is the international day for biological diversity. Let us start by sharing something about biodiversity. Do you know how many kinds of organisms are there on Earth? Scientists have identified and named approximately 1.8 million kinds of organisms so far. They estimated that the actual number may be as large as one trillion. The existence of the wide variety of life forms on Earth is called biodiversity.
Biodiversity is crucial for the functioning of ecosystems and provides a wide range of benefits to humans, such as air and water purification, provides a variety of food sources , creates medical and biotechnological advancements, etc.
In the past few decades, the economy has grown rapidly with the increase of the human population on earth. This has caused the degradation of the environment that has led to the biodiversity loss, which includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, such as the Siberian Tigers (also known as Amur tigers). The estimated population in the wild is around 500 individuals in 2021.
In order to slow down the biodiversity loss, countries around the world have put a lot of effort into protecting endangered species. Take, as an example, it is a species under top protection in China that was once threatened by illegal hunting. A stable population growth in recent decades could be witnessed thanks to environmental protection and anti-poaching efforts by China. The number of Tibetan antelopes in China has increased from less than 70,000 in the 1980s and 1990s to nearly 300,000, according to a statement released recently by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
The above measure clearly shows that our motherland, China, highly values the importance of protecting the environment, which is also part of the maintenance of our national security. You may be wondering, how is environmental protection related to our national security? In fact, ecological security is a crucial part of protecting our nation. In recent decades, China has suffered from climate change, which presents all kinds of challenges for China. It demands a long-term development strategy and broad goals, as well as near-term action plans and specific policies.
In order to achieve global climate goals, China is desperately trying to transition into a low-carbon economy, by reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted, accelerating electrification of vehicles, increasing solar and wind power generation capacity etc. This shows the determination of China to protect the environment and achieve ecological security.
Biology Club and Environmental and Health Protection Committee
23 May 2023