Biodiversity is the basis for any development; it is the natural capital, the stock of natural ecosystems, which provide services for any human activity. As pointed out above, the main immediate threat to biodiversity from biofuel production is through changes in land use, but longer-term threats may come from the spread of invasive species and uncontrolled use of genetically modified (GM) organisms. The environmental and social costs of losing ecosystem services can be substantial, with an economic cost of billions of dollars, though often times the price of goods and services in the local and global economy often fails to reflect this cost. Land conversion, which leads to increased carbon emissions, further exacerbates the risk of losing ecosystem services, climate change being likely to lead to further changes in ecosystem services.

Year: 2012

From collection: Biofuels Vital Graphics - Powering Green Economy

Cartographer: Riccardo Pravettoni, UNEP/GRID-Arendal