Close to one quarter of the earth is made up of grassland. That equates to roughly 39 square kilometres of one of the world's largest ecosysystems. Over 50% of the African continent is grassland.
In terms of human survival they are one of the world's most important habitats. We rely on them for livestock grazing, and therefore all meat and dairy products. For agriculture, then, the maintenance of grassland habits are paramount.
As natural ecosystems go, they also contribute heavily to world climate control, one of the decades most important topics; the vegetation found in grasslands absorbs carbon dioxide, reducing the amount of carbon emitted into the earth's atmosphere. Some experts place the consumption rate at a figure of 60 kilograms per hectare, annually.
This figure has been interpreted in financial terms as being worth more than $4 billion if its contribution to climate control were to be expressed through man made systems.
What is clear, then, is that the world's grassland are of tremendous environmental importance. And yet, only 0.7% of this vast and fertile system across the world is protected by governmental bodies.
At present it is possible that the remaining land can be used without environmental legislation, meaning that potential for maintaining this natural asset are very low; without protection and legislation, there is no guarantee that those bodies working the land are not exploiting it, when they could be working with it to develop a maintenance of the grasslands that would be beneficial to humans on the dual counts of produce and climate control.
In 2001 the EU made moves towards the implementation of protection for Europe's grasslands, with the 'Nature2000 Network':
"The NATURE2000 Network will conserve a significant proportion of the most important EU-wide natural and semi-natural grasslands...
...The growing national and international understanding of the importance of grassland habitats for nature conservation has resulted in an increasing number of projects in European countries to ensure the conservation of dry and mesic grasslands and associated species through restoration and management."
Indeed the Nature2000 Network - also known as the 'Natura 2000 network' - highlights an important concept: that in the struggle against climate change, the natural world is as big a tool in the development and maintenance of sustainable energy and carbon reductions as man-made technologies.
To effectively combat climate change we must protect what natural habitats we have left - goes the argument - for it is an imbalance in the world's ecosystems that is contributing to climate change, and it is the systems we have left that is helping us try to beat it.
Once again the E.U recognises the fundamental relationship between our habitats and our societies:
"European society, our immense cultural diversity and our economies are reflected in our landscapes, agriculture and natural spaces. We are stewards of a wonderful natural legacy that we can pass on hopefully in tact to future generations. Over the last 25 years together we have built up a vast network of over 26,000 protected areas covering all the Member States and a total area of around 850.000 km2, representing more than 20% of total EU territory. This vast array of sites, known as the 'Natura 2000 network' - the largest coherent network of protected areas in the world, is a testament to the importance that EU citizens attach to biodiversity."
In protecting biodiversity and acknowledging the relationship between humans and their habitat, 20% is a fine start. But grasslands are languishing.
The next time that figure goes up, perhaps - quite understandably - they will be included.
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Posted under Articles, Climate, Environmental News
This post was written by Chris Woolfrey on August 1, 2008