Question

1What are bio diversity hotspots ?
2why do we need to conserve them? Give 5 Good reasons
3What is monoculture?
4list the ways how these stakeholders can help in conservation of forests in their own ways?
5 how tourists cause dadamage to forest?

Answer 1

1) A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. The term biodiversity hotspot specifically refers to 25 biologically rich areas around the world that have lost at least 70 percent of their original habitat.



2)

Biodiversity has many importance:

• Maintaining balance of the ecosystem: Recycling and storage of nutrients, combating pollution, and stabilizing climate, protecting water resources, forming and protecting soil and maintaining ecobalance.
• Provision of biological resources: Provision of medicines and pharmaceuticals, food for the human population and animals, ornamental plants, wood products, breeding stock and diversity of species, ecosystems and genes.
• Social benefits: Recreation and tourism, cultural value and education and research.

3)Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop, plant, or livestock species, variety, or breed in a field or farming system at a time.


4 )

• The Judiciary for instance as a key stake holder should inteprete the law and within the confines of the law issue deterrent punishments to environmental degraders. Local governments are supposed to manage, support and regulate activities that impact on natural resource management should engage in best practices to ecosystem conservation and play a policing role against forest encroachers. Collaborative forest management groups should arrest culprits with, Impound illegally harvested timber with NFA, Patrol forests inform of a monitoring role
• Media The media has a role of exposing illegal activities happening on forest, their work covers far and wide in creating awareness on the status of these forests. (fire, illegal logging, charcoal burning, illegal cultivation, illegal hunting, slashing fireline, etc) and their roles are clearly stipulated in the National tree planting act 2003.
• Civil society has a monitoring role to play and this is done in lobby and advocacy to ensure that forests and other natural resources are properly managed and used in a sustainable way.
• National Forest Authority- Has the overseer role to play in management of forest reserves which involves issuing of licences to carry out activities in the forests that do not compromise the health of these ecosystems, arresting along with the environmental police degraders.
• Private sector- in performance of their activities that relate to development should not participate in deforestation or any practices that accelerate greenhouse gas emissions and in their corporate social responsibility support practices that contribute to forest expansion.

5)Throwing plastic bottles/covers pollutes the park. they are non biodegradable and so remain in the environment for many years. Sometimes animals ingest the plastic, which blocks their digestive track and ultimately leads to death...