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BIODIVERSITY
source: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/
downloads/ccspeciessurvival
_2.pdf
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Conservation has traditionally focused on endangered species and protected areas, which remain a high priority. But it has also become clear in recent years that the entire fabric of life needs to be conserved…
A new word – ‘biodiversity’ - has been coined to represent the variety of all living things on Earth, including species, the genes that contribute to their variability, and the ecosystems in which they interact:
- biodiversity has led to greater appreciation of the services provided by nature, including everything from watershed protection to pollination to the flow of nutrients;
- together, these ecological services contribute significant economic benefits to human welfare. One authoritative study estimated these benefits at over US$30 trillion per year, far more than the annual GNP of our plane;
- biodiversity has also offered us important new opportunities to form partnerships between conservation and other sectors of society, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, education, and human health. For example, nearly 30% of all pharmaceuticals in today's drug stores have been developed from wild plants and animals;
- recognizing the value of biodiversity, the governments of the world, supported by scientists from all corners of the Earth, have developed a Convention on Biological Diversity, which has now been ratified by some 180 governments.
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