Biodiversity
The Earth is inhabited by a rich and varied array of living organisms, whose species, the genetic diversity of individuals and the ecosystems they inhabit constitute what is known as biodiversity. In Sustainable by Nature we know that biological diversity offers great opportunities for its responsible, innovative use: many species and ecosystems, as well as the associated knowledge are key input for successful tourism products and services around the world. Biodiversity is an ample concept that includes everything related to life diversity, natural and domesticated, in three different levels:
• Ecosystems: These are the different communities of living beings and include the relationships between them and with their surroundings. Examples of natural ecosystems are tropical and temperate forests, coral reefs, deserts, mangroves and others. Human environments, such are agricultural landscapes, towns and cities could also be considered as ecosystems, since they host natural and domesticated living organisms that interact.
• Species: These are specific forms of life on the planet and may be terrestrial, aquatic, aerial or underground. Examples are the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), rice (Oryza sativa), and dogs (Canis familiaris).
• Genes: They are the basic units of heredity in living organisms. All living things depend on genes, which are responsible for specific characteristics of each species, for diversity within the same species and for specific traits of each individual, which can be passed to offspring.
Biodiversity is the source of many of the things that make our lives better, including food, medicines, construction materials, cosmetics, recreation opportunities and many others. Resources of natural and domesticated biodiversity are very important to sustain a wide array of tourism products and activities including ecotourism, agrotourism and cultural tourism. Knowledge and information on biodiversity and its uses are also very important to innovate and diversify tourism products, respond to even more sophisticated market segments, guarantee resource conservation and sustainability, and increase the competitiveness of destinations.
In order to use biological diversity in intelligent ways, we first need to know it and understand it. Knowledge and information can be generated through the work of specialists such as biologists, chemists and geologists, as well as of common people, such as farmers, artisans and cooks. What matters is having a genuine curiosity about the environment, its creatures, and their interactions, and about their benefits to humankind.
Generating knowledge is not enough: It is even more important to make sure that it is disseminated and used for innovation of products and destinations, to increase people’s awareness and to preserve the resources. Tourism, recreation and education highly benefit from having access to knowledge and information on natural and domesticated biodiversity, which is used by entrepreneurs, planners, product designers, architects, tour guides, government officials, NGOs, park rangers, teachers, students, naturalists and tourists. Thanks to this, they can value and appreciate biodiversity, understand the benefits derived from it, and choose to use it sustainably.
Sustainable by Nature pays close attention to biodiversity and associated knowledge because of its potential to provide opportunities for innovative tourism products and services, improve people’s quality of life and maintain the planet’s natural cycles.