The Rio Earth Summit in 1992 defined biodiversity as:
“the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.”
Biodiversity covers the variety of life on Earth and is threatened by a number of factors, including:
climate change
population growth and distribution
land- and sea-use change
unsustainable resource use and over-exploitation
agricultural intensification
urban and industrial development
nutrient loading
the spread of non-native invasive species and diseases
