Biodiversity, also called biological diversity, is the variety of life found in a place on Earth or, often, the total variety of life on Earth. A measure of this variety, called species richness, is the count of species in an area. Rapid environmental changes typically cause mass extinctions. More than 99.9 percent of all species that ever lived on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to be extinct.

Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86 percent have not yet been described. More recently, in May 2016, scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described. This means that environmental changes which is obviously Global Warming is causing massive extinction of the earth’s species.

Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, rather it varies greatly across the globe as well as within regions. Among other factors, the diversity of all living things (biota) depends on temperature, precipitation, altitude, soils, geography and the presence of other species. The study of the spatial distribution of organisms, species and ecosystems, is the science of biogeography.

A healthy biodiversity provides a number of natural services for everyone:

·         Ecosystem services, such as

o    Protection of water resources

o    Soils formation and protection

o    Nutrient storage and recycling

o    Pollution breakdown and absorption

o    Contribution to climate stability

o    Maintenance of ecosystems

o    Recovery from unpredictable events

·         Biological resources, such as

o    Food

o    Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs

o    Wood products

o    Ornamental plants

o    Breeding stocks, population reservoirs

o    Future resources

o    Diversity in genes, species and ecosystems

·         Social benefits, such as

o    Research, education and monitoring

o    Recreation and tourism

o    Cultural values

Biodiversity is distributed through the following means:

·         Latitudinal gradient: Latitudinal gradient of biodiversity are biogeographic patterns that quantify the ways in which taxonomic, phylogenetic, functional, genetic, or phenetic biodiversity change with latitudinal position on the surface of the earth

·         Hotspots: A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction.

There is a need to preserve biodiversity and below are a few

·         Wildlife support healthy ecosystems that we rely on.

·         Biodiversity is an essential part of the solution to climate change

·         Biodiversity is good for the economy.

·         Biodiversity is an integral part of culture and identity.

·         A larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops

·         Greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms

·         Healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

Biodiversity is very important to our survival in this world and we must therefore do everything we can to preserve it.