| Abstract: |
Biological diversity (often shortened to biodiversity) is the sum total of genetic, species, and ecosystem variation. Today we mostly think of biodiversity in terms of the Biodiversity Convention which was negotiated almost ten years ago and which is the most widely recognised international convention in terms of the number of signatory countries. The Convention defines biological diversity to include -the species, ecosystems and the genes as well as the processes that are essential to maintenance of that diversity. It is simply a description of the vital elements of the unique skin of the Earth known as the biosphere.
We share the world with perhaps as many as 30 million organisms. Within this diversity, it may be surprising that it is the insects that are top of the list for sheer magnitude of species, and that it is in the marine environment that we find the greatest diversity of organisms. Throughout the world cultures talk of a primal garden, the world into which humanity was once placed. But the primal garden is under threat. The survival of many species will come under increasing threat in the coming decades from a host of causes. |
