Biodiversity

Defined in 1992 at the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, biodiversity is "the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems". There are three types of biodiversity: 1) genetic (molecular), 2) biological (organismal) and 3) habitat (ecological). The term indicates the total range of types of living organisms in a particular location or country. It often carries an implicit suggestion that greater biodiversity is good, whereas declining biodiversity indicates a loss of biological resources.