Basics of Biodiversity | Environment for UPSC 2025 (Pre & Mains) PDF Download

 Page 1


 
BASICS 
OF 
 BIODIVERSITY 
Page 2


 
BASICS 
OF 
 BIODIVERSITY 
The Convention on Biological Diversity defines 
biodiversity as: “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 a part; 
this includes diversity within species, between 
species, and of ecosystems.” 
 
Thus, Biodiversity refers to the variety of forms. 
It also includes the genes they contain and the 
ecosystem they form.  
 
It deals essentially with dynamic processes and 
increases when new genetic variation is produced and 
decreases on the loss of genetic variation or species 
extinction. 
 
Page 3


 
BASICS 
OF 
 BIODIVERSITY 
The Convention on Biological Diversity defines 
biodiversity as: “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 a part; 
this includes diversity within species, between 
species, and of ecosystems.” 
 
Thus, Biodiversity refers to the variety of forms. 
It also includes the genes they contain and the 
ecosystem they form.  
 
It deals essentially with dynamic processes and 
increases when new genetic variation is produced and 
decreases on the loss of genetic variation or species 
extinction. 
 
Page 4


 
BASICS 
OF 
 BIODIVERSITY 
The Convention on Biological Diversity defines 
biodiversity as: “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 a part; 
this includes diversity within species, between 
species, and of ecosystems.” 
 
Thus, Biodiversity refers to the variety of forms. 
It also includes the genes they contain and the 
ecosystem they form.  
 
It deals essentially with dynamic processes and 
increases when new genetic variation is produced and 
decreases on the loss of genetic variation or species 
extinction. 
 
TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY 
Page 5


 
BASICS 
OF 
 BIODIVERSITY 
The Convention on Biological Diversity defines 
biodiversity as: “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 a part; 
this includes diversity within species, between 
species, and of ecosystems.” 
 
Thus, Biodiversity refers to the variety of forms. 
It also includes the genes they contain and the 
ecosystem they form.  
 
It deals essentially with dynamic processes and 
increases when new genetic variation is produced and 
decreases on the loss of genetic variation or species 
extinction. 
 
TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY 
 GENETIC DIVERSITY 
It refers to variation of genes within species. 
 This variation can exist between different populations of the 
same species as well as between individuals within a 
population. 
 Genetic diversity provides organisms and ecosystems with 
capacity to recuperate after change has occurred. 
 Thus Genetic diversity is a level of biodiversity that refers to 
the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic 
makeup of a species.  
Genetic diversity plays a great role in the adaptability and 
survival of a species.  
A species that has a large degree of genetic diversity among 
its individuals will have more variations from which to 
choose the most fitting allele.