﻿ Biodiversity and Ecosystem:Biodiversity is used to describe biological diversity at a variety of different scales

Savo Foundation Initiatives: Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Our Objective

The organization's overall objective is to transform and impact lives of the community and society at large living in deplorable conditions in the informal settlements through offering sustainable and viable development services that aim to empower them on leadership towards becoming self dependence in all aspect of lives.

Biodiversity and Ecosystem

ecosystem and biodiversityBiodiversity is a term that can be used to describe biological diversity at a variety of different scales, but in this context we will focus on the description of species diversity. Species play essential roles in ecosystems, so local and global species losses could threaten the stability of the ecosystem services on which humans depend (McCann 2000).

For example, plant species harness the energy of the sun to fix carbon through photosynthesis, and this essential biological process provides the base of the food chain for myriad animal consumers. At the ecosystem level, the total growth of all plant species is termed primary production, and communities composed of different numbers and combinations of plant species can have very different rates of primary production.

Climate change and other human-driven (anthropogenic) environmental changes will continue to cause biodiversity loss in the coming decades (Sala et al. 2000), in addition to the high rates of species extinctions already occurring worldwide . This fundamental metric of ecosystem function has relevance for global food supply and for rates of climate change because primary production reflects the rate at which carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) is removed from the atmosphere. There is currently great concern about the stability of both natural and human-managed ecosystems, particularly given the myriad global changes already occurring. Stability can be defined in several ways, but the most intuitive definition of a stable system is one having low variability (i.e., little deviation from its average state) despite shifting environmental conditions. This is often termed the resistance of a system. Resilience is a somewhat different aspect of stability indicating the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state following a disturbance or other perturbation.

Species Identity, Functional traits, and Resource-Use

Species diversity has two primary components: species richness (the number of species in a local community) and species composition (the identity of the species present in a community). While most research on the relationship between ecosystem diversity and stability has focused on species richness, it is variation in species composition that provides the mechanistic basis to explain the relationship between species richness and ecosystem functioning. Species differ from one another in their resource use, environmental tolerances, and interactions with other species, such that species composition has a major influence on ecosystem functioning and stability.

The traits that characterize the ecological function of a species are termed functional traits, and species that share similar suites of traits are often categorized together into functional groups. When species from different functional groups occur together, they can exhibit complementary resource-use, meaning that they use different resources or use the same resources at different times.

For example, two animal predators may consume different prey items, so they are less likely to compete with one another, allowing higher total biomass of predators in the system. In the case of plants, all species may utilize the same suite of resources (space, light, water, soil nutrients, etc.) but at different times during the growing season — for example, early- and late-season grasses in prairies. Increasing species diversity can influence ecosystem functions — such as productivity — by increasing the likelihood that species will use complementary resources and can also increase the likelihood that a particularly productive or efficient species is present in the community. For example, high plant diversity can lead to increased ecosystem productivity by more completely, and/or efficiently, exploiting soil resources (e.g., nutrients, water). While primary production is the ecosystem function most referred to in this article, other ecosystem functions, such as decomposition and nutrient turnover, are also influenced by species diversity and particular species traits.

How can we improve health hazard

  • Community awareness on health hazard
  • Community involvement
  • Providing instrument for cleaning
  • Good waste disposal
  • Relocate dump sites
  • Proper drainage system and maintain

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Current Activities: Environmental Management

Savo Foundation Documentary


porvety eradication

SAVO foundation has been engaging with community, children and youth groups in order to eradicate extreme poverty in Kibera.

Also read: O.V.C Program | WASH Program

Ecosystem and Biodiversity

SAVO foundation engaging in eco-system management, community awareness, good waste disposal and proper drainage systems for kibera community.

Also read: Waste-management | Health-and-hygiene

sanitation initiative

SAVO foundation aims to reduce the occurrence of water borne diseases by making sure every household and schools consume treated water for healthier life.

Also read: About-our-work | Ecosystem-and-biodiversity

health and Hygiene

SAVO foundation has been engaging with community and youth groups in order to eradicate extreme poverty in Kibera.