Unlocking the Value of Biodiversity

Unlocking the Value of Biodiversity

Learning Objective

Understand the economic and ecological value of biodiversity.

What do you already know about biodiversity?

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth, including the different species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the genetic differences within each species, and the variety of ecosystems.

Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is crucial for the functioning of ecosystems, providing services such as pollination, nutrient cycling, and water purification. It also has economic value through agriculture, medicine, and ecotourism.

Threats to Biodiversity

Human activities such as deforestation, pollution, and climate change are major threats to biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity can have detrimental effects on ecosystems and human society.

Case Studies

Explore case studies of how the loss of biodiversity has affected specific ecosystems or communities. Discuss the economic and ecological implications of these examples.

Conservation Efforts

Highlight conservation efforts aimed at protecting and restoring biodiversity, such as habitat conservation, sustainable resource management, and international agreements.

Interactive Activity

Engage in a role-playing activity where students take on the roles of different stakeholders (e.g., farmers, conservationists, policymakers) to understand the complexities of balancing economic interests with biodiversity conservation.

Reflection and Summary

Encourage students to reflect on the value of biodiversity and summarize the key points learned during the lesson.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.