At the GEO-Day of biodiversity (12 June) Naturefriends International invited to a Photo Championship to enforce the perception and appreciation of the diversity of life.

With the NFI Photo championship, themed “Countdown 2010 - Biodiversity“, nature lovers and photographers are invited to document the wonders of biological diversity on our planet. Therewith it should enforce the importance of the protection of diversity of life and advance the awareness and sensitivity of biodiversity in 2010, the „International Year of Biodiversity“ declared by the UN. For many people „Biodiversity“ is still an abstract term. It is being questioned whether millions of species are really required to ensure our quality of life.

What’s so special about diversity of life?
Biodiversity is the variety of life, from individual genes, animals and plants to complex ecosystems and ecological processes. It accounts for the uniqueness of our planet while providing the basis for our existence.
 
Why is the preservation of diversity of life on our earth that important?
For years, nature and environmental activists have tried to communicate the great importance of biodiversity. We all benefit daily from biological diversity. It is the foundation of our life, a fundamental factor for nutrition, cloths, medication and construction materials, and a mitigative factor to ecological disasters. Furthermore it is of great importance in the struggle against the implications of climate change, since diverse ecosystems can react easier to changes.
 
How will the loss of diversity of life affect our own life?
The agricultural production will decline dramatically if bacteria and fungi, which fructify the earth, disappear, if the number of insects, birds and bats decrease and flowers cannot be pollinated. The loss of biological diversity causes drastic reduction of natural resources and will destabilise the ecological processes on which we rely.

Figures show that in the last 50 years, man has been changing ecological systems more quickly and more comprehensively than in any other comparable period of time. The actual loss of species has increased up to a thousand times. Industrialised countries bear a lot of responsibility: Within the EU, about 42% of the mammalian species, 15% of all species of bird and 45% of the butterfly and reptile species are endangered.