4. Biodiversity and Loss of biodiversity

Biodiversity or biological diversity refers to the diversity of living organisms in a habitat. In biodiversity, various plants, animals, and microorganisms share a habitat. It is highly influenced by topography, climate and human activities.

 

The biodiversity found on Earth today consists of millions of distinct biological species that are the products of four billion years of evolution. Biodiversity represents the strength of the biological resources of a place on Earth. Irrespective of the size of the organism has a key role to play in the ecosystem. Sustaining the ecological balance, biodiversity also facilitates social benefits such as tourism, education, culture, research etc., over an area.

 

A stable and healthy ecosystem provides clean water, enriched soil, food, raw materials, medicines etc.  Also, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is fundamental to ecologically sustainable development. Hence, a stable biosphere has to be conserved.