What is Biodiversity?

By Sarah Weber

Biological diversity, or biodiversity for short, is the variety and sum of all living things on Earth, their relationships and interactions, and their evolution which are necessary to cultivate stable ecosystems for survival.

Biodiversity is generally explored across three levels:

  • Ecological - Diversity across different ecosystems.
  • Species - Diversity in species numbers and type within an ecosystem
  • Genetic - Diversity in characteristics within a single species due to genetic variation.

 Source: Google DeepMind
                                                              

The importance of biodiversity

Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without biodiversity, we wouldn’t have food security, clean water, and habitable environments. Biodiversity is also critical for maintaining the interdependencies of the food web, and each species has an important role to play.

Biodiversity is valuable in many ways with economic, social, and intrinsic qualities. From an economic standpoint, we value biodiversity for what it provides to humans to meet our basic needs such as agriculture, fuel, shelter, medicine, culture, and recreational opportunities. A decrease in biodiversity can result in an increase of transmitted disease, loss of food security and clean water, loss of future uses (option values) that have not yet been identified, and a multitude of other impacts that transcend local, regional, national, and international boundaries. Additionally, biodiversity also provides intrinsic value which refers to its inherent worth and its right to exist. Biodiversity also shapes who we are, our relationships, and our social norms. These values can all be used to demonstrate the tangible benefits of healthy ecosystems and incentivize conservation efforts.

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