What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity describes the wide range of life forms on Earth, spanning from genes to entire ecosystems. It encompasses the processes that maintain life, including evolution, ecology, and cultural practices. Biodiversity encompasses not only rare, threatened, or endangered species but all living beings, from well-known organisms like humans to lesser-known ones such as microbes, fungi, and invertebrates.
Why is Biodiversity Important?
Biodiversity plays a vital role in multiple aspects of our lives. Its importance lies in the numerous benefits humans derive from it, including essential needs like food, fuel, shelter, and medicine. Additionally, ecosystems offer critical services like pollination, seed dispersal, climate regulation, water purification, nutrient cycling, and pest control. Moreover, biodiversity holds value beyond known benefits, potentially offering new medicines and other services yet to be discovered.
We are all #PartofThePlan.
IDB 2024 is expected to increase the visibility momentum in the lead-up to the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), to be held in Colombia from 21 October to 1 November 2024.