Six Reasons Why Biodiversity Is Important

You might have heard people talking about "species diversity" and "biodiversity"—but do you know the full meaning what’s behind these buzzwords? Even if you haven't spent much time thinking about these terms, you don’t need to be a scientist to appreciate that biodiversity is important. And when you do think about them, you'll realize that it all makes perfect sense!

To dive a little deeper, we'll look at six reasons why it’s in everyone’s interest to protect biodiversity and fight for its preservation. Some of the examples might even surprise you!

The greater species diversity is, the more resilient ecosystems are in the face of challenges such as disease, extreme weather, or locust swarms. When many species interact, the loss of one or a few can be better absorbed instead of causing the collapse of the entire system. The fewer the species, the more vulnerable a system becomes.

A sad but telling example from history is the Great Famine in Ireland in the 19th century. At the time, Ireland cultivated almost exclusively one single variety of potato. When a blight hit, the disease spread uncontrollably. The single variety couldn’t withstand it. The result: Millions of people went hungry and over 1 million died.

In Peru, by contrast, there are thousands of very different potato varieties. It’s nearly impossible for a single disease to wipe them all out at once. Genetic diversity protects against disaster and makes food systems more robust—especially in the era of climate change and global trade.

There are even “seed guardians”! In Peru’s Sacred Valley, women from various Indigenous communities who joined forces in the Tierra de Yaqchas project. Their goal: To preserve and pass on ancestral knowledge, keep traditions alive, and share them—including ancient seeds and sustainable farming practices that protect biodiversity and the resilience of the valley’s ecosystems.

__Did you know that we subconsciously fall in love with people who help us create genetically diverse—and therefore more resilient—offspring? Our bodies subconsciously detect differences in immune systems. The greater the genetic variation between two people, the stronger their shared immune system—resulting in children more resistant to disease. So, genetic diversity isn’t just crucial in biological terms—it also shapes our behavior and sense of attraction. The famous “sweaty T-shirt study” by Claus Wedekind (1995) shows that our sense of smell plays a key role. “You smell good to me” takes on a whole new meaning!

 Without biodiversity, many of our favorite foods wouldn’t exist, including chocolate, coffee, and apples. These crops depend on pollinating insects like bees in order to bear fruit. Around three-quarters of all food crops rely on them. If pollinators disappear, your plate will quickly look very empty. The loss of bees alone would be catastrophic: harvests would plummet, entire sectors of agriculture would collapse, and many fruits and vegetables would become rare, expensive, or vanish altogether.

You might be surprised to learn that chocolate exists partly thanks to certain tropical bat species. They pollinate the tiny, complex flowers of the cacao tree—something few other animals can do. No pollination = no cacao fruit = no chocolate.If these winged pollinators disappear, cacao yields drop, prices soar, and chocolate becomes a luxury for the wealthy. So, biodiversity is quite literally responsible for one of the most popular sweet treats.

We see the importance of showing kindness to the bats when it comes to them sneaking into the thatched roofs of the cabañas the Kichwa community call home in the Ecuadorian rainforest. The Sinchi Warmi project 's community's artisanal cacao is simply delicious, allowing us to see the bats in a different light… and maybe even a sense of gratitude! 

Ants are tiny but indispensable helpers of nature. On coffee plantations in Central America, they often replace pesticides by hunting aphids and caterpillars that damage coffee plants. Here too, diversity pays off, because each ant species has its own preferences.Farmers who workwithnature instead of against it reap the benefits: they support biodiversity and save money on chemicals. So biodiversity is good for business , while also producing better coffee and polluting the soil less.

In the Indigenous community of Talamanca in Costa Rica, organic farming is at the heart of their project. With the support of V Social, local people have received training and learned how to grow sustainably, improving regional food security in the process. This includes organic fertilizer for organic vegetables, better cacao, and more diversity on the plate!

Nature is a treasure trove of ingenious remedies that people have used for millennia. Tiny zebrafish, for example, produces gadusol to protect its eggs from UV radiation. This helped scientists better understand UV protection and develop new sunscreens.

A famous example is penicillin, derived from a fungus, which has saved millions of lives. The Pacific yew tree has yielded compounds used to treat breast cancer, and, in tropical rainforests especially, many potential cures are yet to be discovered.

When you visit Amupakin , a community of Indigenous midwives in Ecuador, it’s mind-blowing. Their chacras—gardens of medicinal plants—hold countless traditional remedies. The women there also find answers to issues often overlooked or poorly addressed by Western medicine.

And yet, species are disappearing every day before they’ve even been studied. Protecting biodiversity means giving future generations the chance to explore nature’s healing potential, cure diseases, and live healthier lives.

Did you know that a single tropical rainforest tree can be home to over 500 animal species? Imagine a giant skyscraper filled with apartments. Insects, birds, mammals—every species lives among and depends on the others. Some pollinate, others eat parasites, still others spread seeds.

If one species vanishes, the system is thrown off balance. A high level of biodiversity, on the other hand, helps restore and maintain all ecosystem functions. So every tree is more than just a plant—it’s a whole habitat. And every tree matters.

That’s exactly why we support the Yunguilla community in the Ecuadorian Andes. The local people work passionately to preserve both their Indigenous cultural heritage and the cloud forest trees in the Yunguilla nature reserve. These trees are home to countless species such as hummingbirds, tapirs, wild cats, and spectacled bears.

It's not only about protecting each tree and every forest for the species that live there. Plants—mosses, forests, underwater seagrasses—store enormous amounts of CO₂. By now, we all know that man-made emissions of CO₂ and other gases are the driving force behind the greenhouse effect, and thus the climate crisis.

Ecosystems that are particularly rich in species, like wetlands or primary forests, are excellent carbon sinks: they store carbon long-term and also cool the local microclimate. And don't forget mangrove forests: true biodiversity hotspots with massive CO₂ storage capacity. On Colombia’s Caribbean coast, the fishing community of La Boquilla is passionately committed to protecting their local mangroves. 

The more diverse a system is, the more stable and efficient its carbon storage. When species go extinct or habitats are destroyed, stored CO₂ is released again, further fuelling climate change. Even if the effects aren’t immediately visible, they’re very real, and a slow but serious threat to the whole planet.

Protecting biodiversity also means protecting the climate, yourself, and the future of everyone!