Biodiversity Inspires Design
This article reflects on the Convention
on Biological Diversity and how much
biodiversity has inspired innovation,
pointing to intelligent design
Earth’s Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
A Testimony of God’s Handiwork
by Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds
When we think of biodiversity, many of us picture animals in zoos or in the wild. However, statistics show that earth’s biodiversity is far more than land animals that we can see. In fact, it is estimated that around 95% of all earth’s biodiversity is microscopic, with up to 1 trillion microbial species, with much left to be discovered.
In an effort to promote the safeguarding of earth’s biodiversity, and, recognizing the unique roles of earth’s biodiversity in all its forms uncovers amazing dynamics that show the extent of vital functions performed by both microscopic and macroscopic biodiversity on a daily basis without human intervention among the animal and plant world, the Convention on Biological Diversity is being held between July 27 to August 1 to advance knowledge of ecosystem services (benefits that exist in natural ecosystems that would otherwise cost a fortune for humans to implement themselves).
This event also follows the celebration of World Environment Day in June 2026, which was celebrated under the theme: “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future”.
The interlinked functions among animal, plant and human life gives an opportunity to reflect on the magnificence of God’s work. In commemoration of this event, this article reflects on selected functions of plant and animal biodiversity and perspectives on the origins debate.
Engineering Feats the Created Environment
In engineering, a key optimizing principle is system interdependence for resource efficiency. This directly mimics interdependent ‘symbiotic’ processes involved in natural systems to the extent that an entire field of ‘industrial symbiosis’ has emerged, where different systems or industries exchange resources to reduce waste and improve sustainability. Long-term estimates have documented that over 80% of Earth’s biological systems are symbiotic in some form, with estimates suggesting that symbiosis underpins nearly all complex life.
Despite the clear engineering principles involved in symbiosis, evolutionary scientists and popular science commentary outlets insist on interpreting this process as a mechanism for the evolution of complex life, rather than a feature of intelligent design. For example, last year a popular science commentary article titled:
How symbiosis made Earth what it is – and why it’s key to our future (Rowan Hooper), New Scientist (June 2025), claimed the following about symbiosis:
“Two life forms living together helped spark the evolution of all complex life…. For the first 2 billion years of life on Earth, our planet was dominated by single-celled bacteria and their cousins, archaea. It was Slimeball Earth, and it would have stayed that way were it not for the single most important merger and acquisition in the history of our planet. One of those archaeal cells engulfed a bacterial cell and, somehow, the bacterium survived. Both cells reproduced together and, in time, the engulfed bacterium became the mitochondrion, a tiny structure that acted as a powerhouse of that primitive cell. Nick Lane at University College London has shown that mitochondria allowed these cells to express a remarkable 200,000 times more genes, enabling them to grow and produce endless forms. The new combo became the complex eukaryotic cell, which ultimately gave rise to almost every living thing you can see without a microscope, including us. Symbiosis is the reason we are here, then. And it still sustains us now…”
However, when reflecting on the design principles required for this process to function, several questions arise. For example: If engineers today imitate symbiosis through industrial symbiosis and circular economy models, why assume nature itself achieved such efficiency without a Designer; within as large as 80% (or more) of its life forms?
Celebrating Biodiversity Design Through Biomimicry
Concrete Examples of Inspiration
In commemoration of the celebration of biological diversity, it is also relevant to discuss the proliferation of biomimicry in engineering and industries globally, which testifies to the efficiency of processes observed in our natural world. Peer-reviewed literature in 2026 across numerous fields continue to discover the benefits of biological design to the extent of seeking to harness the design principles embedded in nature. The scope of applications in this process is remarkable, including food processing industries, medicine, and even sales and marketing manufacturing. In an article titled:
Leveraging AI to translate biomimicry and resource flexibility into product innovation (Alam et al), Business Process Management Journal (July 15, 2026), the authors praise the economic benefits of products produced and inspired by biomimicry. In their words, they asked:
“Why do some manufacturing firms sustain product innovation under conditions of environmental uncertainty, digital disruption and resource constraints? We approach this question by arguing that biomimicry-inspired capabilities (BIM) enhance product innovation capability (PIC) by enabling artificial intelligence capability (AIP) to translate ecological insights into scalable innovation outcomes…”
Similarly, biomimicry principles applied to therapeutic interventions are being actively explored in the scientific community. In an article titled:
Engineering design of platelet-mimicking therapeutic systems: multilevel biomimicry, gating strategies, and translational boundaries (Chen, Chen, Cai), Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. (May 2026), the authors explore how to resolve the present challenges in blood transfusion interventions, including storage constraints from limited shelf life and adverse immune reactions to the recipient, and the fact that present alternative interventions such as antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies may cause other adverse reactions.
In response, they explore ‘membrane mimicry’ as “an engineering mandate for stable, storable, and manufacturable systems that selectively reconstruct key platelet functions under verifiable control and safety-bounded deployability.”
Beyond medicine, biomimicry has been applied broadly in food manufacturing. As broadly described in the article:
A Comprehensive Review of Biomimicry in Food: Biomimetic Foods, Food Processing, Food Packaging, Food Freezing, and Food Quality Inspection (Liu et al), Comprehensive Reviews in Food Packaging and Food Safety (May 29, 2026), this encompasses the following in food packaging:
“… biomimetic strategies, such as superhydrophobic surfaces, self-healing materials, nanostructured antimicrobial interfaces, and indicator packaging systems, improve barrier performance and contamination control while enabling real-time freshness monitoring. Biomimetic freezing-control materials, such as ice-nucleating proteins, antifreeze proteins, and natural deep eutectic solvents, modulate ice nucleation, crystal growth, and recrystallization, thereby mitigating freezing-induced deterioration in food texture and quality. In food quality inspection, artificial sensory systems that emulate olfaction, taste, and vision enable rapid, nondestructive evaluation of food quality and authenticity….”
These innovations inspired by the natural world testify to the marvelous design present in nature. Being difficult to deny, nature vividly declares ‘design’ that even secular organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme vocally admitted to the natural world as its own “most effective solution” to rebalancing the earth. In their words, UNEP reminds us that:
“…some of the most effective solutions to the climate crisis have existed long before the first global climate conference, renewable energy technology, or net-zero commitment. They exist in the forests that regulate our climate, the wetlands that buffer floods, the mangroves that protect coastlines, the oceans that absorb carbon, and the healthy soils that sustain food production and livelihoods.”
Biblical Reflection: God’s Heart for the Environment
In commemoration of attempts at preserving earth’s biodiversity, the Christian perspective calls us to view creation as a testimony to the wisdom of God. The Bible itself contains specific directives for stewardship, to optimize its function the way God intended. For example, in the Law of Moses, He commanded Israel:
“But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.” (Leviticus 25:4).
This agricultural rhythm preserved soil fertility, prevented exploitation, and reminded Israel that the land belonged to God. Departing from the principles of stewardship leads to deterioration.
As the world celebrates biodiversity, let us be reminded to point them to the Creator of all things, and that the creation is merely a reflection of His wisdom and love. By being good stewards of biodiversity, we honour God and obey His commands. This obedience will bring mutual blessings to humanity and our natural world, as we also await a future when creation is fully restored to its intended flourishing.
Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds is a Christian, Jamaican, Environmental Science researcher, and journal associate editor. She holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona with high commendation, and a postgraduate specialization in Geomatics at the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. The quality of her research activity in Environmental Science has been recognized by various awards including the 2024 Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society for her reviewing service in the Weather, Climate and Society Journal, the 2023 L’Oreal/UNESCO Women in Science Caribbean Award, the 2023 ICETEX International Experts Exchange Award for study in Colombia. and with her PhD research in drought management also being shortlisted in the top 10 globally for the 2023 Allianz Climate Risk Award by Munich Re Insurance, Germany. Motivated by her faith in God and zeal to positively influence society, Dr. Buckland-Reynolds is also the founder and Principal Director of Chosen to G.L.O.W. Ministries, a Jamaican charitable organization which seeks to amplify the Christian voice in the public sphere and equip more youths to know how to defend their faith.