1. C ONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

2. T ODAY, WE ’ RE GOING TO WORK ON TOPIC G.3.3…. ‘Discuss reasons for the conservation of biodiversity using rainforests as an example ’

3. C AN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THE QUESTION TO ME ?

4. B REAKING DOWN THE QUESTION …. Discuss….IB Objective 3 …Give an account including, where possible, a range of arguments for and against the relative importance of various factors, or comparisons of alternative hypotheses Biodiversity: What is it….how can it be conserved or lost… (Can we measure it?) Rainforests: What are they? Why talk specifically about them? Are they special?....

5. bi·o·di·ver·si·ty (b-d-vûrs-t) 1. The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region 2. The variation of life forms within a given ecosystem 3. The variability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

6. C AN WE MEASURE B IODIVERSITY ? Yes we can!.....using the Simpson’s Diversity Index…

7. Simpson diversity Index = 1 – [(proportion of species A) 2 + (proportion of species B) 2 + …..]

8. T ODAY ’ S SESSION …. Working in groups of 3, we are going to watch some contemporary news stories about rainforests As we do so, take notes to help you formulate your discussion You will have 5 minutes after the videos end to complete your discussion We will complete the discussion together as a class Your contribution will be accorded a participation score

9. S O WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT TROPICAL RAINFORESTS (I)? http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/Tropical_an d_subtropical_moist_broadleaf_forests - p00fdrh0 BBC 2 (3.5 minutes)

10. W HAT ’ S GOING ON IN TROPICAL RAINFORESTS RIGHT NOW ? Anderson Cooper

11. W HAT CAN WE GAIN FROM RAINFORESTS ? Medicine (0.27 – 1.50 and 3.57 – 5.09 Ecotourism

12. You have five minutes to work on and complete your dicussion with your colleagues…

13. O K … LET ’ S DISCUSS !

14. W HAT DOES YOUR BOOK NOTE ?

15. 1. T ROPICAL RAINFORESTS CONTAIN A HUGE NUMBER OF SPECIES …… The majority of the 200,000 species of plants and animals found in Madagascar exist ONLY THERE…. At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World. The Indians of the rainforest use over 2,000.

16. 2. L OSS OF ONE SPECIES IMPACTS ON OTHER SPECIES DUE TO THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF COMMUNITIES

17. 3. Vast quantities of carbon are locked up in tropical rainforests – released as carbon dioxide when forests are cleared 4. When tropical rainforests are cleared, soil erosion increases, leading to loss of topsoil, silting up of rivers and increased flooding

19. 5. Tropical rainforest species are a source of food and medicine for local populations, and also of drugs for pharmaceutical use 6. It may be possible to improve crop plants and farm animals derived from rainforest species with their wild counterparts… Natural medicines....

20. 7. Ecotourism provides ongoing revenue, whereas logging provides income only once… 9. SUSTAINABILITY

21. 8. It is important for indigenous people to maintain intact habitats and individual species of cultural importance

22. A ND FINALLY ….. Ecosystems such as the rainforest are simply, intrinsically…captivatin gly incredible