Given that the major threat to biological diversity is in the loss of habitats, this unit attempts to instill on students the importance of habitat preservation. Thus, I begin from the premise that students must understand what a habitat is, and that they must begin to look at the world as a biologist and naturalist, as a way of becoming ecologists.
Some of the other important factors affecting the deterioration of healthy environments that threatens biological diversity are:
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- Over-exploitation
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- Pollution
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- Habit degradation and loss
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- Competition/predation from alien species
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- Disease
Although it is important that students are aware that deforestation and destruction of tropical rain forest, which occupy 7% of the Earth's total surface, is responsible for the loss of many species that depend on that habitat, it is also imperative, that they closely relate to what this means. Such an abstract and far away reality is meaningless to a seven or eight year old child, and this unit attempts to make these sad and preoccupying facts real to their lives in order to become meaningful. This is accomplished by studying the above listed factors affecting the environment on those permanent plot samples where we will be conducting our observations.
As a society we cannot be demanding that others take care of the habitats near them, when excessive consumption of resources is our daily mantra.
