Scottish Biodiversity Week is a relatively new initiative to highlight the importance of maintaining and understanding the rich web of life that sustains us day to day. The week has been held every year since 2001, starting as a local initiative in Fife in 2000 and growing into a national event.
Organisations such as park ranger services, councils, environmental charities, botanic gardens, businesses, schools and community organisations put on a variety of events in parks and nature reserves.
What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is crucial to life. The livelihoods of 6.5 billion people are sustained by ecosystems containing almost 2 million known species. The welfare of humankind is utterly dependent on this web of life. Crops and animals feed us; forests regulate water supplies and provide fuel; oceans provide food and help regulate climate; and biodiversity is a source of cultural and spiritual wealth for indigenous and city people alike. Yet only a fraction of life has been “discovered” - less than 10%. There could up to 90 million species on the planet. But all this life is disappearing at an astonishing rate. According to the Global Biodiversity Outlook, 130 species become extinct each day. That’s over 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate.