The term 'biodiversity', or 'biological biodiversity', is generally defined as the biological variation of organisms or species that live within different ecosystems. This includes the totality of genetic, species and ecosystem diversity within those different regions.
Biodiversity is important for the survival of life on the planet as we know it. Without species, there would be no air to breathe, no food to eat, no water to drink. There would be no human society at all.
© BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL/ANDREW W. TORDOFF
As the biodiversity of different ecosystems are threatened by human activities and environmental conditions, biodiversity hotspots become a critical component for the survival of the human race. Biodiversity hotspots are certain areas that house large populations of endemic species (restricted to a limited area). According to Conservation International, biodiversity hotspots have two criteria: (1) approximately 1,500 vascular plants are endemic and (2) almost 30% or less of the original vegetation.
During research studies and observation by scientists, the maps of biodiversity hotspots tend to overlap with those natural areas that seem to benefit humans.
After analyzing the historical trends of the diversity of organisms, it is estimated that approximately 99.9% of the world's species have gone extinct. Even though there has been such a drastic decrease in the amount of species, there is evidence that the species alive during modern times are more in number than those from previous times.
© PLANT DIVERSITY/ROBERT SPICER
"We should realize that humans are not responsible for most of the extinctions that have happened on Earth. At the same time, humans have been influencing biodiversity for a long time, and human-caused extinctions are not a new thing at all." (Tschakert, 2020)