'Biodiversity' is a term commonly used to describe the variety of life on earth
Biodiversity is the variety of all living things with which we share the planet. From the smallest insect to the largest tree, a delicate flower to a giant basking shark, a garden bird to us humans, biodiversity is about the whole range of life!
Biodiversity provides the life support systems upon which humans and all other species rely. You can find biodiversity almost everywhere, in your garden, road verges, farmland, woodlands, and the seashore.
The decline in biodiversity across the globe is an urgent issue. Ecosystems are being degraded or destroyed and many species pushed to the brink of extinction, largely due to human activity. It is important to address this loss at a local level through practical conservation measures – thinking global, acting local.
The conservation of biodiversity is not only about looking after our rare species and their habitats; it is about the conservation of the complete variety of life. This involves managing the full range of our animals and plants, even the common ones, and caring for the places where they live.
The term biodiversity became significant in 1991 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, when the Biodiversity Convention was signed by more then 150 countries including the UK Government. Since then, in recognition of the rapid degradation of ecosystems and habitats, the increasing threat to many species populations and the urgent need to take action that will halt the decline in irreplaceable natural resources, governments from around the world have committed to reducing the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.
The key target that Europe has committed to is to ‘halt the decline of biodiversity’ by 2010. Given the current rapid decline in biodiversity, both in Europe and worldwide, and the ever-increasing extent and intensity of many human activities, the 2010 target will require unprecedented efforts in adapting our activities to the needs of natural systems. http://www.countdown2010.net
