Topic: Biodiversity and conservation- The Eden project of the United Kingdom

Aim: To research, compile and present an essay on the Eden project of the
United Kingdom, inclusive but not limiting to its history purpose and
significance to the maintenance of biodiversity.

In every corner of the world, destruction is evident and rampant. Though once a natural
phenomenon, extinction is now happening at a rate that far exceeds the natural rate and species
are becoming extinct by a dozen days after day. All this destruction is caused by a single species.
It is us- the humans.
Biodiversity represents all the organisms present in an ecosystem. They are three types:
genetic, species and ecosystem which are interconnected, and one cannot survive without the
other. Maintaining biodiversity is extremely important for us and for our future generations.
Every species depends on each other for existence. Plant diversity provides shelter, food,
clothing, medicine; adopting a diversity in plants grown for agriculture can prevent economy
crippling losses, agricultural disasters and fatality (e.g. the potato famine and Fusarium head
blight which cost a million fatality and million dollars lost respectively); biodiversity can also
help reduce destruction caused by natural disasters (e.g. mangrove swamp prevent erosion and
flooding); and finally, plant tissues and other organic materials on land or sea can store carbon in
their biomass which can assist in the stabilization of the climate.
However, all of those benefits are lost when natural ecosystems are degraded and the
resources are overexploited. The major factors contributing to the loss of biodiversity are
deforestation, pollution, global warming and the last, but widely accepted as the most significant
factor, is human growth.
The sharp rise in the human population has placed a pressure on the Earths ecosystem to
house, feed and provide basic needs. The fish population has greatly suffered for this increase;
the average annual fish caught is one hundred million metric tonnes. This decreases the fish
population, which decreases biodiversity. Biodiversity also suffers when lands and habitats are
cleared or degraded for shelter, mining, etc... The community of organism living there may die
because they could not adapt to the changing environment. The lost of biodiversity has also
assisted in global warming; global temperature has risen from 0.3 C to 0.6 C. However, if
ecosystems can cautiously be maintained and biodiversity hotspots conserved, it would be
beneficial to human society and biodiversity alike.
 Although some biodiversities are unrecoverable, measures are set in place to preserve
species. The main goal of conservation is the maintenance of important populations of all species
in their natural habitat. Protected areas have rules and regulations which restrict the hunting or
gathering of plant resources or any other destructive activates within the areas borders. Some
examples of conservations are gene banks, seed banks, botanic gardens and zoos.
One of the largest conservatory in the world, sitting at the bottom of an abandoned
kaolinite pit, is the Eden project. The Eden project is one of Cornwall, Londons most popular
tourist attractions. It is a charity that helps people gather to build a more ethical and sustainable
world and the goal is to promote understanding, responsibility and management of the vital
relationship among plants, resources and people. Eden achieves this through various media, e.g.
architecture that has significant meaning and over one million plants (five thousand species) from
many climatic zones of the world.
The project was co-founded by Tim Smit, and architecture Nicholas GrimShaw
transformed a worn pit in the ground into an Eden. Planning began in 1996 and construction
began on 1998. In the first six months, two million tonnes of soil were transported; it was said to
be the biggest earth shift at that time. The construction also achieved two world records in 1998.
That was the worlds tallest and largest freestanding scaffold.
The pit consists of two huge adjoining domes, formed by hundreds of hexagonal windows
made from ETFT. Each domes houses thousands of plant species collected from diverse climates
and environments and each enclosure stimulates a natural biome. The larger of the two biomes is
the rainforest biome and the Mediterranean biome is the smaller biome. There is also an outside
botanical garden that is a habitat for plants and wildlife native to England and many plants that
provide an interesting history, e.g. plants with prehistoric heritage.
The rainforest biome is the worlds largest rainforest in a conservatory and is home to
about one thousand varieties of plants. It is a jungle environment, filled with luscious tropical
plants, huge waterfall, statues and a canopy walkway. It tends to mimic the sights and smell of
environments native to West Africa, the tropical South America and south-east Asia. The aim of
this biome is to pass on a message to an audience of the importance of maintaining tropical
diversity by providing the visitors with an immersive experience of the tropics, the plants and
their uses. The area is kept between 18-35 C and the waterfalls and misting sprays contribute to
the high humidity required by the species. Examples of plants found in this biome are bananas,
nuts, spices, cocoa, and many other plants native to the tropic.
 The Mediterranean biome is home to exotic plants from California South Africa and the
Mediterranean. It is kept between 15-25 C. It houses plants such as olives, grape vines, chilli
peppers and also include various structures.
Outside the biome is a huge variety of plants and a global garden. It contains a diverse
collection of plants and vegetables and tells the story about how we use them around the world.
There are also various sculptures including a giant bee and a huge robotic structure made from
scrap electronic equipment which symbolises the electronic waste one person uses during his/her
lifetime.
Besides conserving biodiversity, the Eden project also conserves water and electricity. The
massive quantity of water required to sustain the humid conditions of the Tropical biomes and
water needed for toilet facilities are all rain water that collects at the bottom of the quarry. Tap
water is only used for hand washing and cooking. The project also generates their own electricity
from the many wind turbines in Cornwell (which were among the first in England.)
The first part of the Eden project opened in May 2000. The first plants began arriving in
September of that year and the full site opened on St. Patricks Day, 2001.
The core was the latest addition to the site and it opened in June 2006 by the Queen of
England. The core is an education facility that helps communicate Edens main message about
the relationship between people and plants. Interdependence of plants is also thought and many
plants are labelled with their medical uses. To fully enforce Edens message, a huge granite
structure was placed at the centre of the cores building which would symbolise the power of
nature and education of Eden. It weighed one hundred and sixty (160) tonnes and took ten
thousand working hours to complete the structure. The final structure weighed seventy tonnes
and was the biggest work of art made from a single piece of stone since the age of the Egyptians.
The Eden project is a massive in-situ conservatory. Since its opening it has received
visitors by the millions and more are learning about the relationship of plants days after day. If
other conservatories can follow Eden and government officials can realise that biodiversity is
declining, maybe there is still hope for a rich, diverse, future.
Definitions of key-terms:
1. Biomass- the total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area or volume
2. Biodiversity- represent all the organisms present in an ecosystem.
3. Biodiversity hotspots- a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is
under threat from humans.
4. In situ conservation- the preservation of species in their natural habitat
5. Ex situ conservation- the preservation of species in botanic gardens, zoos, protected areas
and reserves, etc.
6. Exploitation- the harvesting of wild organisms at a rate that exceeds the ability of the
population to replenish itself.

References
BBC-One. (2014, June 16). Youtube. Retrieved from http://www.edenproject.com/eden-story/eden-
timeline
Durant, C. (2013). Biology for CAPE examinations. 4 Crinan Street, London: Macmillan Publishers .
Project, E. (n.d.). Eden Project timeline. Retrieved from http://www.edenproject.com/eden-
story/eden-timeline