Why does biodiversity matter?

Biodiversity is the name we give to all plants🌳, fungi 🍄, animals 🦊🐛🦉🐌 and microbes🦠 on earth. Biodiversity is important because everything from our food to the weather is influenced by it. 

A few examples of this are: 

• Plants use the energy from the sun to create sugars. Plants form the bottom of the food web and feed all other living creatures. Without plants we would not be able to harness the suns energy to grow food. 
• 75% of food crops are pollinated by insects. This means that without insects these plants would not be able to reproduce and make more plants. 
• Salt marshes in the UK are very effective at preventing flooding and stopping waves from eroding the coastline. 

The UK government estimates the total economic value of these services provided by biodiversity is around 78% of the total UK asset value. 

Find out more on the links below: 

• Royal Society, why is biodiversity important? 
• Unicef, why biodiversity is important for children
• European Commission, why biodiversity is important for food security