Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is a term coined to describe the immense variety and richness of life on this planet. Biodiversity includes not only the many species that exist, but also the diversity of populations that make up a species, the genetic diversity among individual life forms, and the many different habitats and ecosystems around the globe.
The use of the term biodiversity grew out of a concern that efforts were needed to conserve, not just particularly charismatic animals, but the diversity of life around the world, including many plants and animals that will never grace a letterhead or be the focus of an international campaign.
There are many ongoing efforts local, national, and international to balance the needs of human populations with the protection of endangered and threatened species.
Nature has varied forms of creation (plants & vegetation (flora), fauna (animals), insects, birds and microorganism etc.). If all these survive, living would be smooth for all species on earth. Thus, bio-diversity would mean that there is need for diverse biological varieties to coexist without the threat of extinction.
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Thus biodiversity would simply mean “varieties of species’ right to existence.” It also would mean that no one has the right to threaten a species’ right to existence. Man, being the homosapien should restrain from actions that would erode species but do everything to protect them from extinction. This will not only protect the environment but also enable smooth human survival as well. Thus, all species are equally important for the sustenance of all human and sub-human species. Hence, there is an urgent need to strengthen the food chain of all living creatures with sustainable and judicious use.
“Biodiversity or biological diversity is the richness in species of all living micro and macro- organism’s occurring in a given habitat.” The word was coined in 1985 and during the 1990s has become very widely used in the scientific circles. According to the World Resources Institute, “Biodiversity is the variety of the world’s organisms, including their genetic diversity and the assemblage they form.
It is the blanket term for natural biological wealth that undergirds human life and wellbeing. The breadth of the concept reflects the inter-relatedness of genes, species and ecosystems, because genes are the components of species and species are the components of ecosystems. Therefore, altering the make-up of any level of this hierarchy can change the others; species are central to the concept of biodiversity.”