1. Lesson Aims To understand the main threats to biodiversity

2.  Unsustainably high population growth and resource consumption  Inequality in the ownership, management and flow of benefits which threaten the livelihoods of the world’s poorest  Concentration of agriculture, forestry and fishing on a narrowing spectrum of products  Economic system developed by governments and business that fail to value the environment and its resources

3.  Legal and institutional systems that promote unsustainable exploitation at the expense of more sustainable options  Lack of knowledge and understanding in the management and conservation of biodiversity

4. Threats to Biodiversity H______________ C__________ O_____ - E______________ C________ C__________ I_____________ S_____________ P_______________ D_____________

5.  Use the print out (p103-p104) to write an answer to the following question: “WHAT ARE THE THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY?”

7.  Why is it a hotspot? - It’s a hotspot because of their endemism and the severe threat facing the unique ecosystem  What is the threat? – invasive species from mainland Ecuador were introduced in order to bolster fishing and tourism

8.  Up to 60% of the 180 species if endemic plant are considered ‘threatened’  Recorded 490 introduced insect species, with 55 of these as ‘high risk’ to cause severe damage to native biodiversity  18 introduced vertebrate species introduced, with 13 considered harmful  Mainland snake predators could soon establish themselves

9.  What’s being done? – eradication of feral cats and rodents, rounding up stray dogs and removing the quinine tree, a serious alien plant invader.  What’s the biggest pressure? – the thousands of tourists who visit every year to marvel at what Charles Darwin first saw in 1835

11.  Borneo is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The vegetation is tropical rainforest and supports a wide range of biodiversity  One of Malaysia’s main exports is palm oil, which is used in lipstick, soap and cooking oil.  To set up the monoculture the areas is cleared, first by felling commercial timber and then burning the rest