|
|
|
WHAT IS
WOW?
EDUCATION
GLOBAL
ISSUES
WOW
ONLINE
|
What is Biodiversity? Scoop up a handful of soil from your backyard, and there in your hand are more living things than are known to exist on all the other planets in our solar systems combined. With its oxygen-rich atmosphere, abundant water, and generally mild climate due in part to the Earth’s relative position in space, Earth is able to support more life than we have ever been able to count! So far, we have identified and named more than 1.4 million species, including nearly 250 000 species of higher plants, 19 000 species of fish, 10 000 species of reptiles and amphibians, 4 000 species of mammals and 751 000 species of insects. The rest includes mollusks, worms, spiders, fungi, algae and micro-organisms. Many scientists think that millions more species, mostly insects and other invertebrates, are yet to be discovered.
But biodiversity is facing serious threats. As growing human populations struggle to meet their needs, they are exerting increasing pressures on natural resources--pressures that are endangering species and ecosystems around the world. For all these reasons, WWF believes it's critical that people understand what biodiversity is, why it's important, why it's disappearing, and how individuals, institutions, and communities can take action on its behalf. |
