Global Biodiversity Assessment
The Global Biodiversity Assessment (GBA) was an extensive scientific initiative conducted between 1993 and 1995, aimed at analyzing global biodiversity issues through the contributions of over 1,500 experts. Funded by the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Environment Programme, the assessment emphasized the severe threats posed to the planet's biological resources due to human population expansion and environmental degradation. The GBA highlighted significant gaps in scientific understanding of ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity, revealing that only about 13% of Earth's species had been formally described.
The findings illustrated the urgent need for enhanced conservation strategies, indicating that effective biodiversity management requires a multifaceted approach. This includes not just the establishment of protected areas but also integrating biodiversity considerations into broader landscape and resource management practices. The assessment noted alarming rates of habitat loss, particularly in tropical forests and coral reefs, and stressed that the overarching causes of biodiversity loss are closely linked to human resource use. Overall, the GBA underscored the necessity for continued research and a collaborative approach to biodiversity conservation, reflecting a wide range of opinions and significant data gaps within the scientific community.
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Subject Terms
Global Biodiversity Assessment
IDENTIFICATION: Independent scientific analysis of all issues, theories, and views regarding biodiversity from a global perspective
DATES: 1993-1995
The results of the Global Biodiversity Assessment made it clear that the degradation of the environment caused by expanding human populations had placed the earth’s biological resources under serious threat. The assessment also revealed that much additional work needed to be done for scientists to reach consensus on all the various issues surrounding biodiversity.
From 1993 through 1995, a group of scientific experts helped develop, write, and review contributions to the Global Biodiversity Assessment. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this independent, peer-reviewed assessment was the work of more than fifteen hundred scientists and other experts from all parts of the world. The final report focused on assessing the scientific understanding of biodiversity’s various components—namely, ecosystems, species, and genes—and on identifying the gaps in the knowledge base that should be targeted for future research. It concluded that the preservation of must include a blend of strategies, including programs to save species by creating controlled environments and policies to manage natural environments in ways that minimize adverse impacts on ecosystems and species.
While great advances in understanding the earth’s biological diversity were made during the 1980’s and 1990’s, the results of the assessment demonstrated that this understanding continued to be incomplete. The researchers found a great range of opinion on many basic theoretical issues, and gaps in data were enormous, with estimates sometimes differing by several orders of magnitude. Decisions that rely on an understanding of dynamics, such as knowledge about the optimal size of a nature reserve necessary to preserve species diversity, are greatly hindered by a lack of good information, as are decisions that rely on an understanding of how genetic diversity is distributed within populations and how species evolve and function.
The researchers who conducted the Global Biodiversity Assessment found ecosystems of all kinds around the world to be under great pressure. Lowland and coastal areas, native grasslands, wetlands, and many types of woodlands and forests had been adversely affected or destroyed by human activities. During the 1980’s humid tropical forests were being lost at an annual rate of nearly 10.1 million hectares (25 million acres), dry tropical forests were being destroyed at an even faster rate, and 10 percent of the coral reefs of the world were eroded beyond recovery.
The researchers estimated that only about 13 percent of the total number of species on earth had been scientifically described. In addition, they found that the number of species reported as being threatened by extinction was far from the actual total. The researchers concluded that the root causes of the loss of biodiversity in general were closely tied to the ways in which human societies have used natural resources.
In conducting the Global Biodiversity Assessment, the researchers not only evaluated existing problems but also analyzed various options for ensuring that biodiversity would be conserved and protected wisely in the future. They concluded that biodiversity management must go far beyond steps such as establishing nature reserves and setting up agricultural seed banks. The management of biodiversity must be fully integrated into all aspects of landscape management.
Bibliography
Biermann, Frank. “Whose Experts? The Role of Geographic Representation in Global Environmental Assessments.” In Global Environmental Assessments: Information and Influence, edited by Ronald B. Mitchell et al. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2006.
"Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool." IBAT, www.ibat-alliance.org/. Accessed 17 July 2024.
National Research Council. Analysis of Global Change Assessments: Lessons Learned. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2007.