Biological resources of the world and their protection. What is biological resources?

All the wildlife that surrounds us is a complex, multi-level system of interconnected biological resources. A person can also be regarded as an integral part of this system.

Biological resources - wealth given
Human planet

Bioresources are the "life of the Earth". All living things, from unicellular marine organisms to multiton mammals, are the biological resources of the world. These include:

1. The planet's flora (phytomass) is the plant world.
2. The fauna of the planet (zoomass) is the totality of all animals.

Living organisms that can not be classified as flora or fauna, for example, sea protozoans, are also part of the planet's bioresources and collectively can be called biomass.

They perform many functions simultaneously and are of great importance for humanity. Let's look at all the constituent parts, united in the concept of "biological resources".

Animal world

Animals are an integral component of the Earth's ecosystem. They play an important role both for man and for the functioning of the remaining elements of the biosphere.

Ensuring soil fertility, pollination of plants, water purification in natural conditions, transformation of organic substances in the ecosystem are just a few of their functions.

Plant resources of the world

To this group are primarily forest biological resources. They are renewable, but exhaustible. The size of these bioresources is calculated by the area or volumes of wood that can be used by man. Forests occupy about 30% of the planet's area, which equals 40 million square meters. Km. If we consider the stock of wood as raw materials, then its volume is about 350 billion cubic meters. M.

But the forest is not only a material for production and fuel, but also a habitat for many species of animals. In this example, there is a close relationship between all the components of the planet's biological resources.

Biological Resources of the Ocean and Fresh Waters

The world ocean occupies 70% of the area of our planet. Reserves of minerals in the bowels of the ocean shelves do not belong to bioresources. Biological resources are all living organisms in the depths of water that a person can use for himself. The total mass of such living organisms is estimated at 35 billion tons. The highest productivity in terms of catching fish is the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Bering, Norwegian and Japanese Seas.

The biological resources of the ocean are also renewable.

How a person uses the bioresources of the planet

The volumes of biological resources are difficult to determine, and even more difficult to find out is their value in monetary terms. For example, forest lands can simultaneously perform many functions: be a building material, fuel and a place of rest (recreational resource). Also, the plant world is an invaluable source of oxygen.

In the case of agriculture, it is difficult to distinguish between bioresources and agro-resources. All cultivated farmland, used by man, appeared due to reduction of untouched natural areas, previously ranked as bioresources.

Water biological resources are used by man constantly. Marine animals are a source of food, as well as raw materials for other industries (medicine, agriculture).

Ground animals are also biological resources. Animal world, if we consider only wild animals, loses its former significance for man. This is due to the development of livestock. Although in some regions hunting continues to be a strategically important fishery.

State of the planet's biological resources

As you can see, a person has always boldly used what the planet gave him. And bioresources have not become an exception. But human intervention did not go unnoticed.

The biological resources of the world lose their original appearance year after year under the influence of human deeds. We do not always think about the fact that one action can cause irreversible disturbances in the functioning of the ecosystem of the planet. For example, deforestation causes the disappearance of many species of animals.

Over the past 30 years, the area of green plantations has significantly decreased. The scale of felling is so great that it can even be seen in pictures taken from space. And all during the existence of civilization, our hands destroyed 35% of the forests. Unfortunately, the restoration of green plantations does not bring a proper result. Now the rate of reduction is 18 times higher than the rate of their regeneration.

Indelible consequences from human activities are felt on themselves and biological resources. First of all, the damage to aquatic bioresources is manifested in large-scale catches of fish and other seafood, pollution of reservoirs, destruction of spawning grounds.

Animals are a source of raw materials for many production processes. However, the scale of the use of wild terrestrial fauna is insignificant, when compared with the volume of agricultural livestock.

Bioresources protection is the task of each of us

The fact that the biological resources of the world have an incommensurable value for the life of mankind does not need any arguments. It is even impossible to imagine how people can exist without access to these riches of the planet.

World biological resources have no borders, therefore the issue of their protection should be solved at the international level. In total, there are now more than thirty organizations that regulate active actions aimed at protecting bioresources in each individual country. The UNESCO initiative was the creation of the "International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources". More than 90 countries participate in the research "Man and the Biosphere" under the leadership of the same organization.

Another socially active association "Friends of the Earth" conducts regular campaigns in defense of flora and fauna. "Action in defense of the Earth" is a youth unit of this organization.

Protection of biological resources is the main task of the international association Greenpeace. This organization operates at the local, national and international levels and has the support of the broad masses.

Main methods of conservation of bioresources

As we can see, organizations that position themselves as environmentalists are sufficient, but what specific measures does humanity take to ensure that the world's biological resources are exposed to the least possible influence on its part?

1. Rational attitude to biological goods. Introduction of technologies for non-waste production and re-use of raw materials.
2. Protection from pollution - purposeful activities, whose task is to eliminate the negative impact of human life (installation of treatment plants at enterprises, waste disposal).
3. Arrangement of territories where biological resources are protected. The animal world and vegetation here can be observed intact. Reserves, sanctuaries, nature monuments, national parks are places where it becomes possible to restore populations of rare species of animals and plants.

And finally ...

Each of us, consciously or unconsciously, daily uses the available bioresources. In this regard, our task is to use them as rationally as possible, protect and restore them, so that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren can see and appreciate all the riches of the Earth.