Conservation of Biodiversity for human welfare

Bijay S. Singh* ^a, Ranveer kumar^b & Tejaswita Kumari^c
a&bDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Cambridge Institute of Technology, Tatisilwai, Ranchi
^c Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Cambridge Institute of Technology,Tatisilwai, Ranchi

Received 22nd June, 2008 ; Revised 13-lugust, 2008

Abstract : The sheer diversity of life is of inestimable value that provides a foundation for the continued existence of a healthy planet and our own well-being. Many biologists now believe that ecosystems rich in diversity gain greater resilience and are therefore able to recover more readily from stresses such as drought or anthropogenic degradation. When ecosystems are diverse, there is a range of pathways for primary production and ecological processes. If biological diversity is greatly diminished, the functioning of ecosystems is put at risk. The greatest value of the variety of life may be the opportunities it gives us for adapting to change. The unknown potential of genes, species and ecosystems is of inestimable but certainly high value. Genetic diversity will enable breeders to tailor crops to new climatic conditions, while the Earth’s biota is likely to hold still undiscovered cures for known and emerging diseases. A multiplicity of genes, species and ecosystems is a resource that can be tapped, as human needs change. Biological diversity conservation entails a shift from a reactive posture – protecting nature from the impacts of development – to a proactive effort seeking to meet peoples’ needs from biological resources while ensuring the long-term ecological sustainability of Earth’s biotic wealth. On a global level it thus involves not only the protection of wild species and their habitats but also the safeguarding of the genetic diversity of cultivated and domesticated species and their wild relatives. The conservation of biological diversity seeks to maintain the life-support system provided by nature in all its variety, and the living resources essential for ecologically sustainable development.