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Information and Communication Technology (ICT), or in English known as the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), is a big umbrella term that covers all the technical equipment to process and communicate information. ICT covers two aspects of information technology and communications technology. Information technology includes all things related to the process, the use of a tool, manipulation, and management of information. While communications technology is all things relating to the use of tools to process and transfer data from one device to another. Therefore, information technology and communication technology are two inseparable concepts. So the Information and Communication Technology implies that all the activity area associated with the processing, manipulation, management, transfer of information between the media. Terms of ICT emerged after the combination of computer technology (both hardware and software) with communications technology in the mid-20th century. Blend the two technologies was growing rapidly beyond any other technology. Until the early 21st century ICT continues to experience various changes and have not seen the saturation point.
Contents
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* 1 History
* 2 The application of ICT in Education in Indonesia
o 2.1 Books Electronics
o E-learning 2.2
* 3 Reference

[edit] History

There are several milestones that technological developments contributed significantly to the development of ICT to the present. The first is finding the phone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875. The findings are then developed into the provision of a wired communication network covering the entire American continent, even the wiring followed the trans-Atlantic communications. This telephone network is a massive infrastructure built first humans to global communication. Entering the 20th century, precisely between the years 1910-1920, manifested a wireless voice transmission over AM radio broadcast of the first. Wireless voice communication is growing rapidly too soon. Then followed by an audio-visual transmission without cables, a form of television broadcasting in the 1940s. The first electronic computer operational in 1943. Then followed by a stage miniaturization of electronic components through the discovery in 1947 of transistors and integrated circuits (integrated electronics) in 1957. The development of electronics technology, which is the origin of the current ICT, a golden moment in the Cold War era. Science and technology competition between the Western bloc (United States) and the Eastern bloc (formerly USSR) actually spur technological development through the efforts electronics miniaturization of electronic circuits for spacecraft control and war machines. Miniaturization of electronic components, through the creation of integrated circuits, microprocessors at its peak delivery. Microprocessor that is the ‘brain’ computer hardware and continue to evolve to this day. Telecommunications equipment grew rapidly as digital technology began to be used to replace analog technology. Analog technology had begun to show the maximum limits pengeksplorasiannya. Digitizing devices converging with telecommunications and computer equipment from the beginning is a device that adopt digital technology. This convergence products that currently appear in the form of mobile phone. In the telecommunications and computing infrastructure is content (content) of a multimedia got the right place to grow. Convergence of telecommunications – this multimedia computing that characterizes the 21st century, as the 18th century is characterized by the industrial revolution. When the industrial revolution to make the machines as a replacement for ‘muscle’ man, the digital revolution (because of the convergence of telecommunications – a multimedia computing takes place through the implementation of digital technology) to create machines that replace (or at least improve) ‘brain’ of man.
[edit] Application of ICT in Education in Indonesia

Indonesia has used the term telematics (Telematics) to mean more or less the same with ICT that we know today. Telematics Encarta Dictionary describes as telecommunication + informatics (telecommunication + informatics) although previously it meaningful science of data transmission. Processing and distribution of information through telecommunications networks open many opportunities to be utilized in various fields of human life, including one in education. The idea of using machine-learning, to simulate the processes of complex, animation processes very difficult to attract described learning practitioners. Moreover, the possibility to serve not constrained learning time and place can also be facilitated by ICT. In line with that start popping up various jargon beginning with E, ranging from e-book, e-learning, e-laboratory, e-education, e-libraries, and so on. Prefix e meaningful electronics that implicitly interpreted based digital electronics technology. Utilization of ICT in education in Indonesia has had a long history. Initiatives organized educational radio and television education is an effort to spread information to the educational units scattered throughout the archipelago. This is a form of consciousness to optimize the utilization of technology in helping the community learning process. The main weaknesses of radio and television broadcasts is the lack of educational feedback instantly. Press is in the direction of the source or facilitator to the learner. Introduction of computers with the ability to process and present a multimedia show (text, graphics, images, sound and moving images) provides new opportunities to overcome weaknesses that are not owned radio and television broadcasts. If the television is only able to provide information in line (especially if the material content of the show was recorded), internet technology-based learning provides an opportunity to interact both synchronous (real time) or asynchronous (delayed). Internet-based learning allows for learning in sync with the main advantage that the learner and the facilitator does not have to be in the same place. Utilization of video conferencing technology, which is run by using Internet technology allows learners anywhere along the network is connected to a computer. In addition to such leading applications, several other opportunities that are simpler and cheaper can also be developed in line with the current progress of ICT.
[edit] Electronic Books

Electronic book or e-book is one that utilizes computer technology to deliver multimedia information in a concise and dynamic. In an e-book can be integrated impressions sound, graphics, images, animation, or movie so that the information presented is more rich than conventional books. Type the e-book of the simplest is that simply moving a conventional book into electronic form displayed by the computer. With this technology, hundreds of books can be stored in a single CD or compact disk (capacity of about 700MB), DVD or digital versatile disk (capacity 4.7 to 8.5 GB) and flash (the current capacity available up to 16 GB). Form a more complex and require more careful design such as the Microsoft Encarta and the Encyclopedia Britannica which is encyclopedic in multimedia format. Multimedia format allows the e-book provides not only written information but also sound, images, movies and other multimedia elements. An explanation of one type of music for example, can be accompanied by the sound of music footage so that users can clearly understand what is meant by the presenters.
[edit] E-learning

Various definitions can be found for e-learning. Victoria L. Tinio, for example, stated that e-learning include learning at all levels, formal and nonformal, which uses a computer network (intranet and extranet) for the delivery of learning materials, interactions, and / or facilitation. For some learning process took place with the help of the Internet network is often referred to as online learning. The broader definition proposed in the working paper SEAMOLEC, namely e-learning is learning through electronic services. Although definitions vary, but basically agreed that e-learning is learning by using electronic technology as a means of presentation and distribution of information. The definition is covered by radio and television broadcasts of education as a form of e-learning. Although radio and television education is one form of e-learning, is generally agreed that e-learning reaches its peak form after a synergy with the Internet technology. Internet-based learning or web-based learning in its simplest form is a website that used to present learning materials. This allows learners to access learning resources provided by the resource person or facilitator at any time desired. If needed can be provided a special mailing list for those learning site that serves as a forum for discussion. E-learning facility that provides comprehensive special software called a learning management software, or LMS (learning management system). LMS-based walking latest internet technology that can be accessed from anywhere as long as is access to the internet. Facilities provided include the management of students or learners, management of learning materials, management of the learning process including the management of the learning evaluation and management of communication between learners with a facilitator-facilitator. This facility enables learning activities managed without any direct face-to-face between the parties involved (administrators, facilitators, learners, or learners). ‘Presence’ the parties involved are represented by e-mail, chat channels, or through video conferencing

Kata kacapi dalam bahasa Sunda juga merujuk kepada tanaman sentul, yang dipercaya kayunya digunakan untuk membuat alat musik kacapi.
Bedug adalah alat musik tabuh seperti gendang. Bedug merupakan instrumen musik tradisional yang telah digunakan sejak ribuan tahun lalu, yang memiliki fungsi sebagai alat komunikasi tradisional, baik dalam kegiatan ritual keagamaan maupun politik. Di Indonesia, sebuah bedug biasa dibunyikan untuk pemberitahuan mengenai waktu salat atau sembahyang. Bedug terbuat dari sepotong batang kayu besar atau pohon enau sepanjang kira-kira satu meter atau lebih. Bagian tengah batang dilubangi sehingga berbentuk tabung besar. Ujung batang yang berukuran lebih besar ditutup dengan kulit binatang yang berfungsi sebagai membran atau selaput gendang. Bila ditabuh, bedug menimbulkan suara berat, bernada khas, rendah, tetapi dapat terdengar sampai jarak yang cukup jauh.

Heat from the Sun is the driving force of life on Earth. The science of heat and its relation to work is thermodynamics. Heat flow can be created in many ways.

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is the process of energy transfer from one body or system due to thermal contact, which in turn is defined as an energy transfer to a body in any other way than due to work performed on the body.[1]

A related term is thermal energy, loosely defined as the energy of a body that increases with its temperature. Heat is also loosely referred to as thermal energy, although many definitions require this thermal energy to actually be in the process of movement between one body and another to be technically called heat (otherwise, many sources prefer to continue to refer to the static quantity as “thermal energy”). Heat is a form of Energy, but energy is not necessarily heat[citation needed].

Energy transfer by heat can occur between objects by radiation, conduction and convection. Temperature is used as a measure of the internal energy or enthalpy, that is the level of elementary motion giving rise to heat transfer. Energy can only be transferred by heat between objects – or areas within an object – with different temperatures (as given by the zeroth law of thermodynamics). This transfer happens spontaneously only in the direction of the colder body (as per the second law of thermodynamics). The transfer of energy by heat from one object to another object with an equal or higher temperature can happen only with the aid of a heat pump via mechanical work.

Georg Cantor, the founder of set theory, gave the following definition of a set at the beginning of his Beiträge zur Begründung der transfiniten Mengenlehre:[1]

By a “set” we mean any collection M into a whole of definite, distinct objects m (which are called the “elements” of M) of our perception [Anschauung] or of our thought.

The elements or members of a set can be anything: numbers, people, letters of the alphabet, other sets, and so on. Sets are conventionally denoted with capital letters. Sets A and B are equal if and only if they have precisely the same elements.

As discussed below, in formal mathematics the definition given above turned out to be inadequate; instead, the notion of a “set” is taken as an undefined primitive in axiomatic set theory, and its properties are defined by the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms. The most basic properties are that a set “has” elements, and that two sets are equal (one and the same) if they have the same elements.
Describing sets

There are two ways of describing, or specifying the members of, a set. One way is by intensional definition, using a rule or semantic description:

A is the set whose members are the first four positive integers.
B is the set of colors of the French flag.

The second way is by extension – that is, listing each member of the set. An extensional definition is denoted by enclosing the list of members in brackets:

C = {4, 2, 1, 3}
D = {blue, white, red}

Unlike a multiset, every element of a set must be unique; no two members may be identical. All set operations preserve the property that each element of the set is unique. The order in which the elements of a set are listed is irrelevant, unlike a sequence or tuple. For example,

{6, 11} = {11, 6} = {11, 11, 6, 11},

because the extensional specification means merely that each of the elements listed is a member of the set.

For sets with many elements, the enumeration of members can be abbreviated. For instance, the set of the first thousand positive integers may be specified extensionally as:

{1, 2, 3, …, 1000},

where the ellipsis (“…”) indicates that the list continues in the obvious way. Ellipses may also be used where sets have infinitely many members. Thus the set of positive even numbers can be written as {2, 4, 6, 8, … }.

The notation with braces may also be used in an intensional specification of a set. In this usage, the braces have the meaning “the set of all …”. So, E = {playing card suits} is the set whose four members are ♠, ♦, ♥, and ♣. A more general form of this is set-builder notation, through which, for instance, the set F of the twenty smallest integers that are four less than perfect squares can be denoted:

F = {n2 − 4 : n is an integer; and 0 ≤ n ≤ 19}

In this notation, the colon (“:”) means “such that”, and the description can be interpreted as “F is the set of all numbers of the form n2 − 4, such that n is a whole number in the range from 0 to 19 inclusive.” Sometimes the vertical bar (“|”) is used instead of the colon.

One often has the choice of specifying a set intensionally or extensionally. In the examples above, for instance, A = C and B = D. And that is how it is done.
Membership
Main article: Element (mathematics)

The key relation between sets is membership – when one set is an element of another. If A is a member of B, this is denoted A ∈ B, while if C is not a member of B then C ∉ B. For example, with respect to the sets A = {1,2,3,4}, B = {blue, white, red}, and F = {n2 − 4 : n is an integer; and 0 ≤ n ≤ 19} defined above,

4 ∈ A and 285 ∈ F; but
9 ∉ F and green ∉ B.

[edit] Subsets
Main article: Subset

If every member of set A is also a member of set B, then A is said to be a subset of B, written A ⊆ B (also pronounced A is contained in B). Equivalently, we can write B ⊇ A, read as B is a superset of A, B includes A, or B contains A. The relationship between sets established by ⊆ is called inclusion or containment.

If A is a subset of, but not equal to, B, then A is called a proper subset of B, written A ⊊ B (A is a proper subset of B) or B ⊋ A (B is proper superset of A).

Note that the expressions A ⊂ B and B ⊃ A are used differently by different authors; some authors use them to mean the same as A ⊆ B (respectively B ⊇ A), whereas other use them to mean the same as A ⊊ B (respectively B ⊋ A).
A is a subset of B
A is a subset of B

Example:

* The set of all men is a proper subset of the set of all people.
* {1, 3} ⊊ {1, 2, 3, 4}.
* {1, 2, 3, 4} ⊆ {1, 2, 3, 4}.

The empty set is a subset of every set and every set is a subset of itself:

* ∅ ⊆ A.
* A ⊆ A.

An obvious but useful identity, which can often be used to show that two seemingly different sets are equal:

* A = B if and only if A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A.

[edit] Power sets
Main article: Power set

The power set of a set S is the set of all subsets of S. This includes the subsets formed from all the members of S and the empty set. If a finite set S has cardinality n then the power set of S has cardinality 2n. The power set can be written as P(S).

If S is an infinite (either countable or uncountable) set then the power set of S is always uncountable. Moreover, if S is a set, then there is never a bijection from S onto P(S). In other words, the power set of S is always strictly “bigger” than S.

As an example, the power set P({1, 2, 3}) of {1, 2, 3} is {{1, 2, 3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3}, {1}, {2}, {3}, ∅}. The cardinality of the original set is 3, and the cardinality of the power set is 23 = 8. This relationship is one of the reasons for the terminology power set. Similarly, its notation is an example of a general convention providing notations for sets based on their cardinalities.
[edit] Cardinality
Main article: Cardinality

The cardinality | S | of a set S is “the number of members of S.” For example, since the French flag has three colors, | B | = 3.

There is a unique set with no members and zero cardinality, which is called the empty set (or the null set) and is denoted by the symbol ∅ (other notations are used; see empty set). For example, the set of all three-sided squares has zero members and thus is the empty set. Though it may seem trivial, the empty set, like the number zero, is important in mathematics; indeed, the existence of this set is one of the fundamental concepts of axiomatic set theory.

Some sets have infinite cardinality. The set N of natural numbers, for instance, is infinite. Some infinite cardinalities are greater than others. For instance, the set of real numbers has greater cardinality than the set of natural numbers. However, it can be shown that the cardinality of (which is to say, the number of points on) a straight line is the same as the cardinality of any segment of that line, of the entire plane, and indeed of any finite-dimensional Euclidean space.
[edit] Special sets

There are some sets which hold great mathematical importance and are referred to with such regularity that they have acquired special names and notational conventions to identify them. One of these is the empty set. Many of these sets are represented using blackboard bold or bold typeface. Special sets of numbers include:

* P, denoting the set of all primes: P = {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, …}.
* N, denoting the set of all natural numbers: N = {1, 2, 3, . . .}. (Sometimes N = {0, 1, 2, 3, …}).
* Z, denoting the set of all integers (whether positive, negative or zero): Z = {… , −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, …}.
* Q, denoting the set of all rational numbers (that is, the set of all proper and improper fractions): Q = {a/b : a, b ∈ Z, b ≠ 0}. For example, 1/4 ∈ Q and 11/6 ∈ Q. All integers are in this set since every integer a can be expressed as the fraction a/1.
* R, denoting the set of all real numbers. This set includes all rational numbers, together with all irrational numbers (that is, numbers which cannot be rewritten as fractions, such as π, e, and √2.
* C, denoting the set of all complex numbers: C = {a + bi : a, b ∈ R}. For example, 1 + 2i ∈ C.
* H, denoting the set of all quaternions: H = {a + bi + cj + dk : a, b, c, d ∈ R}. For example, 1 + i + 2j − k ∈ H.

Each of the above sets of numbers has an infinite number of elements, and each can be considered to be a proper subset of the sets listed below it. The primes are used less frequently than the others outside of number theory and related fields.
[edit] Basic operations

There are several fundamental operations for constructing new sets from given sets.
[edit] Unions
The union of A and B, denoted A ∪ B
Main article: Union (set theory)

Two sets can be “added” together. The union of A and B, denoted by A ∪ B, is the set of all things which are members of either A or B.

Examples:

* {1, 2} ∪ {red, white} = {1, 2, red, white}.
* {1, 2, green} ∪ {red, white, green} = {1, 2, red, white, green}.
* {1, 2} ∪ {1, 2} = {1, 2}.

Some basic properties of unions:

* A ∪ B = B ∪ A.
* A ∪ (B ∪ C) = (A ∪ B) ∪ C.
* A ⊆ (A ∪ B).
* A ∪ A = A.
* A ∪ ∅ = A.
* A ⊆ B if and only if A ∪ B = B.

[edit] Intersections
Main article: Intersection (set theory)

A new set can also be constructed by determining which members two sets have “in common”. The intersection of A and B, denoted by A ∩ B, is the set of all things which are members of both A and B. If A ∩ B = ∅, then A and B are said to be disjoint.
The intersection of A and B, denoted A ∩ B.

Examples:

* {1, 2} ∩ {red, white} = ∅.
* {1, 2, green} ∩ {red, white, green} = {green}.
* {1, 2} ∩ {1, 2} = {1, 2}.

Some basic properties of intersections:

* A ∩ B = B ∩ A.
* A ∩ (B ∩ C) = (A ∩ B) ∩ C.
* A ∩ B ⊆ A.
* A ∩ A = A.
* A ∩ ∅ = ∅.
* A ⊆ B if and only if A ∩ B = A.

[edit] Complements
The relative complement
of B in A
The complement of A in U
The symmetric difference of A and B
Main article: Complement (set theory)

Two sets can also be “subtracted”. The relative complement of B in A (also called the set-theoretic difference of A and B), denoted by A \ B, (or A − B) is the set of all elements which are members of A but not members of B. Note that it is valid to “subtract” members of a set that are not in the set, such as removing the element green from the set {1, 2, 3}; doing so has no effect.

In certain settings all sets under discussion are considered to be subsets of a given universal set U. In such cases, U \ A is called the absolute complement or simply complement of A, and is denoted by A′.

Examples:

* {1, 2} \ {red, white} = {1, 2}.
* {1, 2, green} \ {red, white, green} = {1, 2}.
* {1, 2} \ {1, 2} = ∅.
* {1, 2, 3, 4} \ {1, 3} = {2, 4}.
* If U is the set of integers, E is the set of even integers, and O is the set of odd integers, then E′ = O.

Some basic properties of complements:

* A \ B ≠ B \ A.
* A ∪ A′ = U.
* A ∩ A′ = ∅.
* (A′)′ = A.
* A \ A = ∅.
* U′ = ∅ and ∅′ = U.
* A \ B = A ∩ B′.

An extension of the complement is the symmetric difference, defined for sets A, B as

A\,\Delta\,B = (A \setminus B) \cup (B \setminus A).

For example, the symmetric difference of {7,8,9,10} and {9,10,11,12} is the set {7,8,11,12}.
[edit] Cartesian product
Main article: Cartesian product

A new set can be constructed by associating every element of one set with every element of another set. The Cartesian product of two sets A and B, denoted by A × B is the set of all ordered pairs (a, b) such that a is a member of A and b is a member of B.

Examples:

* {1, 2} × {red, white} = {(1, red), (1, white), (2, red), (2, white)}.
* {1, 2, green} × {red, white, green} = {(1, red), (1, white), (1, green), (2, red), (2, white), (2, green), (green, red), (green, white), (green, green)}.
* {1, 2} × {1, 2} = {(1, 1), (1, 2), (2, 1), (2, 2)}.

Some basic properties of cartesian products:

* A × ∅ = ∅.
* A × (B ∪ C) = (A × B) ∪ (A × C).
* (A ∪ B) × C = (A × C) ∪ (B × C).

Let A and B be finite sets. Then

* | A × B | = | B × A | = | A | × | B |.

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems. The biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species, which is the product of nearly 3.5 billion years of evolution.[1][2] 2010 has been declared as the International Year of Biodiversity.

[edit] Etymology

The term was used first by wildlife scientist and conservationist Raymond F. Dasmann in a lay book[3] advocating nature conservation. The term was not widely adopted for more than a decade, when in the 1980s it and “biodiversity” came into common usage in science and environmental policy. Use of the term by Thomas Lovejoy in the Foreword to the book[4] credited with launching the field of conservation biology introduced the term along with “conservation biology” to the scientific community. Until then the term “natural diversity” was used in conservation science circles, including by The Science Division of The Nature Conservancy in an important 1975 study, “The Preservation of Natural Diversity.” By the early 1980s TNC’s Science program and its head Robert E. Jenkins, Lovejoy, and other leading conservation scientists at the time in America advocated the use of “biological diversity” to embrace the object of biological conservation.

The term’s contracted form biodiversity may have been coined by W.G. Rosen in 1985 while planning the National Forum on Biological Diversity organized by the National Research Council (NRC) which was to be held in 1986, and first appeared in a publication in 1988 when entomologist E. O. Wilson used it as the title of the proceedings[5] of that forum.[6]

Since this period both terms and the concept have achieved widespread use among biologists, environmentalists, political leaders, and concerned citizens worldwide. The term is sometimes used to equate to a concern for the natural environment and nature conservation. This use has coincided with the expansion of concern over extinction observed in the last decades of the 20th century.

A similar concept in use in the United States, besides natural diversity, is the term “natural heritage.” It pre-dates both terms though it is a less scientific term and more easily comprehended in some ways by the wider audience interested in conservation. Furthermore it may be misleading if used to refer only to biodiversity, as natural heritage also includes geology and landforms (geodiversity). The term “Natural Heritage” was used when Jimmy Carter set up the Georgia Heritage Trust while he was governor of Georgia; Carter’s trust dealt with both natural and cultural heritage. It would appear that Carter picked the term up from Lyndon Johnson, who used it in a 1966 Message to Congress. “Natural Heritage” was picked up by the Science Division of the US Nature Conservancy when, under Jenkins, it launched in 1974 the network of State Natural Heritage Programs. This network took on a life of its own in the 1990s when it became an independent non-profit organization named NatureServe. When NatureServe was extended outside the USA, the term “Conservation Data Center” was suggested by Guillermo Mann is now also used by several programs, for example those that operate as part of NatureServe Canada.
[edit] Definitions
A Sampling of fungi collected during summer 2008 in Northern Saskatchewan mixed woods, near LaRonge is an example regarding the species diversity of fungi. In this photo, there are also leaf lichens and mosses.

“Biological diversity” or “biodiversity” can have many interpretations and it is most commonly used to replace the more clearly defined and long established terms, species diversity and species richness. Biologists most often define biodiversity as the “totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a region”. An advantage of this definition is that it seems to describe most circumstances and present a unified view of the traditional three levels at which biological variety has been identified:

* genetic diversity
* species diversity
* ecosystem diversity

But Professor Anthony Campbell at Cardiff University, UK and the Darwin Centre, Pembrokeshire, has defined a fourth, and critical one: Molecular Diversity (see Campbell, AK J Applied Ecology 2003,40,193-203; Save those molecules: molecular biodiversity and life).

This multilevel conception is consistent with the early use of “biological diversity” in Washington, D.C. and international conservation organizations in the late 1960s through 1970′s, by Raymond F. Dasmann who apparently coined the term and Thomas E. Lovejoy who later introduced it to the wider conservation and science communities. An explicit definition consistent with this interpretation was first given in a paper by Bruce A. Wilcox commissioned by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) for the 1982 World National Parks Conference in Bali [7] The definition Wilcox gave is “Biological diversity is the variety of life forms…at all levels of biological systems (i.e., molecular, organismic, population, species and ecosystem)…” Subsequently, the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro defined “biological diversity” 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 part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”. This is, in fact, the closest thing to a single legally accepted definition of biodiversity, since it is the definition adopted by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

The current textbook definition of “biodiversity” is “variation of life at all levels of biological organization”.[8]

For geneticists, biodiversity is the diversity of genes and organisms. They study processes such as mutations, gene exchanges, and genome dynamics that occur at the DNA level and generate evolution. Consistent with this, along with the above definition the Wilcox paper stated “genes are the ultimate source of biological organization at all levels of biological systems…”
[edit] Measurement
Main article: Measurement of biodiversity

A variety of objective measures have been created in order to empirically measure biodiversity. Each measure of biodiversity relates to a particular use of the data. For practical conservationists, measurements should include a quantification of values that are commonly-shared among locally affected organisms, including humans. For others, a more economically defensible definition should allow the ensuring of continued possibilities for both adaptation and future use by humans, assuring environmental sustainability.
[edit] Distribution
A conifer forest in the Swiss Alps (National Park).

Selection bias amongst researchers may contribute to biased empirical research for modern estimates of biodiversity. In 1768 Rev. Gilbert White succinctly observed of his Selborne, Hampshire “all nature is so full, that that district produces the most variety which is the most examined.”[9]

Nevertheless, biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth. It is consistently richer in the tropics and in other localized regions such as the Cape Floristic Province. As one approaches polar regions one generally finds fewer species. Flora and fauna diversity depends on climate, altitude, soils and the presence of other species. In the year 2006 large numbers of the Earth’s species were formally classified as rare or endangered or threatened species; moreover, many scientists have estimated that there are millions more species actually endangered which have not yet been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed using the IUCN Red List criteria, are now listed as threatened species with extinction – a total of 16,119 species.[10]

Even though biodiversity declines from the equator to the poles in terrestrial ecoregions, whether this is so in aquatic ecosystems is still a hypothesis to be tested, especially in marine ecosystems where causes of this phenomenon are unclear.[11] In addition, particularly in marine ecosystems, there are several well stated cases where diversity in higher latitudes actually increases. Therefore, the lack of information on biodiversity of Tropics and Polar Regions prevents scientific conclusions on the distribution of the world’s aquatic biodiversity.

A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species. These biodiversity hotspots were first identified in 1988 by Dr. Norman Myers in two articles in the scientific journal The Environmentalist.[12][13] Dense human habitation tends to occur near hotspots. Most hotspots are located in the tropics and most of them are forests.

Brazil’s Atlantic Forest is considered a hotspot of biodiversity and contains roughly 20,000 plant species, 1350 vertebrates, and millions of insects, about half of which occur nowhere else in the world. The island of Madagascar including the unique Madagascar dry deciduous forests and lowland rainforests possess a very high ratio of species endemism and biodiversity, since the island separated from mainland Africa 65 million years ago, most of the species and ecosystems have evolved independently producing unique species different from those in other parts of Africa.

Many regions of high biodiversity (as well as high endemism) arise from very specialized habitats which require unusual adaptation mechanisms, for example alpine environments in high mountains, or the peat bogs of Northern Europe.
[edit] Evolution
Main article: Evolution
Apparent marine fossil diversity during the Phanerozoic Eon

Biodiversity found on Earth today is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution. The origin of life has not been definitely established by science, however some evidence suggests that life may already have been well-established a few hundred million years after the formation of the Earth. Until approximately 600 million years ago, all life consisted of archaea, bacteria, protozoans and similar single-celled organisms.

The history of biodiversity during the Phanerozoic (the last 540 million years), starts with rapid growth during the Cambrian explosion—a period during which nearly every phylum of multicellular organisms first appeared. Over the next 400 million years or so, global diversity showed little overall trend, but was marked by periodic, massive losses of diversity classified as mass extinction events.

The apparent biodiversity shown in the fossil record suggests that the last few million years include the period of greatest biodiversity in the Earth’s history. However, not all scientists support this view, since there is considerable uncertainty as to how strongly the fossil record is biased by the greater availability and preservation of recent geologic sections. Some (e.g. Alroy et al. 2001) argue that, corrected for sampling artifacts, modern biodiversity is not much different from biodiversity 300 million years ago.[14] Estimates of the present global macroscopic species diversity vary from 2 million to 100 million species, with a best estimate of somewhere near 13–14 million, the vast majority of them arthropods.[15]

The existence of a global carrying capacity has been debated, that is to say that there is a limit to the number of species that can live on this planet. While records of life in the sea shows a logistic pattern of growth, life on land (insects, plants and tetrapods)shows an exponential rise in diversity. As one author states, “Tetrapods have not yet invaded 64 per cent of potentially habitable modes, and it could be that without human influence the ecological and taxonomic diversity of tetrapods would continue to increase in an exponential fashion until most or all of the available ecospace is filled.”[16]

Most biologists agree however that the period since the emergence of humans is part of a new mass extinction, the Holocene extinction event, caused primarily by the impact humans are having on the environment. It has been argued that the present rate of extinction is sufficient to eliminate most species on the planet Earth within 100 years.[17]

New species are regularly discovered (on average between 5–10,000 new species each year, most of them insects) and many, though discovered, are not yet classified (estimates are that nearly 90% of all arthropods are not yet classified).[15] Most of the terrestrial diversity is found in tropical forests.
[edit] Human benefits
Summer field in Belgium (Hamois). The blue flowers are Centaurea cyanus and the red are Papaver rhoeas.

Biodiversity also supports a number of natural ecosystem processes and services.[18] Some ecosystem services that benefit society are air quality,[19] climate (both global CO2 sequestration and local), water purification, pollination, and prevention of erosion.[19]

Since the stone age, species loss has been accelerated above the geological rate by human activity. The rate of species extinction is difficult to estimate, but it has been estimated that species are now being lost at a rate approximately 100 times as fast as is typical in the geological record, or perhaps as high as 10 000 times as fast.[20] To feed such a large population, more land is being transformed from wilderness with wildlife into agricultural, mining, lumbering, and urban areas for humans.

Non-material benefits that are obtained from ecosystems include spiritual and aesthetic values, knowledge systems and the value of education.
[edit] Agriculture
See also: Agricultural biodiversity
Amazon Rainforest in Brazil.

The economic value of the reservoir of genetic traits present in wild varieties and traditionally grown landraces is extremely important in improving crop performance[citation needed]. Important crops, such as the potato and coffee, are often derived from only a few genetic strains[citation needed]. Improvements in crop plants over the last 250 years have been largely due to harnessing the genetic diversity present in wild and domestic crop plants[citation needed]. Interbreeding crops strains with different beneficial traits has resulted in more than doubling crop production in the last 50 years as a result of the Green Revolution[citation needed].

Crop diversity is also necessary to help the system recover when the dominant crop type is attacked by a disease:

* The Irish potato blight of 1846, which was a major factor in the deaths of a million people and migration of another million, was the result of planting only two potato varieties, both of which were vulnerable.
* When rice grassy stunt virus struck rice fields from Indonesia to India in the 1970s, 6273 varieties were tested for resistance.[21] One was found to be resistant, an Indian variety, known to science only since 1966.[21] This variety formed a hybrid with other varieties and is now widely grown.[21]
* Coffee rust attacked coffee plantations in Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Central America in 1970. A resistant variety was found in Ethiopia.[22] Although the diseases are themselves a form of biodiversity.

Monoculture, the lack of biodiversity, was a contributing factor to several agricultural disasters in history, the European wine industry collapse in the late 1800s, and the US Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic of 1970.[23] Higher biodiversity also controls the spread of certain diseases as pathogens will need to adapt to infect different species[citation needed].

Biodiversity provides food for humans[citation needed]. Although about 80 percent of our food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plants[citation needed], humans use at least 40,000 species of plants and animals a day[citation needed]. Many people around the world depend on these species for their food, shelter, and clothing[citation needed]. There is untapped potential for increasing the range of food products suitable for human consumption, provided that the high present extinction rate can be stopped.[17]
[edit] Human health
The diverse forest canopy on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, yielded this display of different fruit

The relevance of biodiversity to human health is becoming a major international political issue, as scientific evidence builds on the global health implications of biodiversity loss.[24][25][26] This issue is closely linked with the issue of climate change,[27] as many of the anticipated health risks of climate change are associated with changes in biodiversity (e.g. changes in populations and distribution of disease vectors, scarcity of fresh water, impacts on agricultural biodiversity and food resources etc). Some of the health issues influenced by biodiversity include dietary health and nutrition security, infectious diseases, medical science and medicinal resources, social and psychological health,[28] and spiritual well-being. Biodiversity is also known to have an important role in reducing disaster risk, and in post-disaster relief and recovery efforts.[29][30]

One of the key health issues associated with biodiversity is that of drug discovery and the availability of medicinal resources.[31] A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, from biological sources; Chivian and Bernstein report that at least 50% of the pharmaceutical compounds on the market in the US are derived from natural compounds found in plants, animals, and microorganisms, while about 80% of the world population depends on medicines from nature (used in either modern or traditional medical practice) for primary healthcare.[25] Moreover, only a tiny proportion of the total diversity of wild species has been investigated for potential sources of new drugs. Through the field of bionics, considerable technological advancement has occurred which would not have without a rich biodiversity. It has been argued, based on evidence from market analysis and biodiversity science, that the decline in output from the pharmaceutical sector since the mid-1980s can be attributed to a move away from natural product exploration (“bioprospecting”) in favour of R&D programmes based on genomics and synthetic chemistry, neither of which have yielded the expected product outputs; meanwhile, there is evidence that natural product chemistry can provide the basis for innovation which can yield significant economic and health benefits.[32][33] Marine ecosystems are of particular interest in this regard,[34] however unregulated and inappropriate bioprospecting can be considered a form of over-exploitation which has the potential to degrade ecosystems and increase biodiversity loss, as well as impacting on the rights of the communities and states from which the resources are taken.[35][36][37]
[edit] Business and Industry
Agriculture production, pictured is a tractor and a chaser bin.

A wide range of industrial materials are derived directly from biological resources. These include building materials, fibers, dyes, resirubber and oil. There is enormous potential for further research into sustainably utilizing materials from a wider diversity of organisms. In addition, biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services it provides are considered to be fundamental to healthy economic systems. The degree to which biodiversity supports business varies between regions and between economic sectors, however the importance of biodiversity to issues of resource security (water quantity and quality, timber, paper and fibre, food and medicinal resources etc) are increasingly recognized as universal.[38][39][40] As a result, the loss of biodiversity is increasingly recognized as a significant risk factor in business development and a threat to long term economic sustainability. A number of case studies recently compiled by the World Resources Institute demonstrate some of these risks as identified by specific industries.[41]
[edit] Other ecological services
See also: Ecological effects of biodiversity
Eagle Creek, Oregon hiking

Biodiversity provides many ecosystem services that are often not readily visible. It plays a part in regulating the chemistry of our atmosphere and water supply. Biodiversity is directly involved in water purification, recycling nutrients and providing fertile soils. Experiments with controlled environments have shown that humans cannot easily build ecosystems to support human needs; for example insect pollination cannot be mimicked by human-made construction, and that activity alone represents tens of billions of dollars in ecosystem services per year to humankind.

The stability of ecosystems is also related to biodiversity, with higher biodiversity producing greater stability over time, reducing the chance that ecosystem services will be disrupted as a result of disturbances such as extreme weather events or human exploitation.
Polar bears on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, near the North Pole.
[edit] Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value

Many people derive value from biodiversity through leisure activities such as hiking, birdwatching or natural history study. Biodiversity has inspired musicians, painters, sculptors, writers and other artists. Many cultural groups view themselves as an integral part of the natural world and show respect for other living organisms.

Popular activities such as gardening, caring for aquariums and collecting butterflies are all strongly dependent on biodiversity. The number of species involved in such pursuits is in the tens of thousands, though the great majority do not enter mainstream commercialism.

The relationships between the original natural areas of these often ‘exotic’ animals and plants and commercial collectors, suppliers, breeders, propagators and those who promote their understanding and enjoyment are complex and poorly understood. It seems clear, however, that the general public responds well to exposure to rare and unusual organisms—they recognize their inherent value at some level. A family outing to the botanical garden or zoo is as much an aesthetic or cultural experience as it is an educational one.

Philosophically it could be argued that biodiversity has intrinsic aesthetic and spiritual value to mankind in and of itself. This idea can be used as a counterweight to the notion that tropical forests and other ecological realms are only worthy of conservation because they may contain medicines or useful products.

An interesting point is that evolved DNA embodies knowledge,[42] and therefore destroying a species resembles burning a book, with the caveat that the book is of uncertain depth and importance and may in fact be best used as fuel.
[edit] Number of species
Main article: Species
Undiscovered and discovered species

According to the Global Taxonomy Initiative[43] and the European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy, the total number of species for some phyla may be much higher as what we know currently:

* 10–30 million insects;[44] (of some 0,9 we know today [45])
* 5–10 million bacteria;[46]
* 1.5 million fungi;[47] (of some 0,4 million we know today [45])
* ~1 million mites[48]

Due to the fact that we know but a portion of the organisms in the biosphere, we do not have a complete understanding of the workings of our environment. To make matters worse, according to professor James Mallet, we are wiping out these species at an unprecedented rate.[49] This means that even before a species has had the chance of being discovered, studied and classified, it may already be extinct.
[edit] Threats
Loss of old growth forest in the United States; 1620, 1850, 1920, and 1992 maps:
From William B. Greeley’s, The Relation of Geography to Timber Supply, Economic Geography, 1925, vol. 1, p. 1–11. Source of “Today” map: compiled by George Draffan from roadless area map in The Big Outside: A Descriptive Inventory of the Big Wilderness Areas of the United States, by Dave Foreman and Howie Wolke (Harmony Books, 1992). These maps represent only virgin forest lost. Some regrowth has occurred but not to the age, size or extent of 1620 due to population increases and food cultivation.

During the last century, decreases in biodiversity have been increasingly observed. Studies[by whom?] show that 30% of all natural species will be extinct by 2050.[50] Of these, about one eighth of the known plant species are threatened with extinction.[51] Some estimates put the loss at up to 140,000 species per year (based on Species-area theory) and subject to discussion.[52] This figure indicates unsustainable ecological practices, because only a small number of species come into being each year. Almost all scientists acknowledge [51] that the rate of species loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction rates.

The factors that threaten biodiversity have been variously categorized. Jared Diamond describes an “Evil Quartet” of habitat destruction, overkill, introduced species, and secondary extensions. Edward O. Wilson prefers the acronym HIPPO, standing for Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, Human Over Population, and Overharvesting.[53][54] The most authoritative classification in use today is that of IUCN’s Classification of Direct Threats[55] adopted by most major international conservation organizations such as the US Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and Birdlife International.
[edit] Destruction of habitat
Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest are a significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.
Main article: Habitat destruction

Most of the species extinctions from 1000 AD to 2000 AD are due to human activities, in particular destruction of plant and animal habitats. Raised rates of extinction are being driven by human consumption of organic resources, especially related to tropical forest destruction.[56] While most of the species that are becoming extinct are not food species, their biomass is converted into human food when their habitat is transformed into pasture, cropland, and orchards[57]. It is estimated that more than a third of the Earth’s biomass[58] is tied up in only the few species that represent humans, livestock and crops. Because an ecosystem decreases in stability as its species are made extinct, these studies warn that the global ecosystem is destined for collapse if it is further reduced in complexity. Factors contributing to loss of biodiversity are: overpopulation, deforestation, pollution (air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination) and global warming or climate change, driven by human activity. These factors, while all stemming from overpopulation, produce a cumulative impact upon biodiversity.

There are systematic relationships between the area of a habitat and the number of species it can support, with greater sensitivity to reduction in habitat area for species of larger body size and for those living at lower latitudes or in forests or oceans.[59] Some characterize loss of biodiversity not as ecosystem degradation but by conversion to trivial standardized ecosystems (e.g., monoculture following deforestation). In some countries lack of property rights or access regulation to biotic resources necessarily leads to biodiversity loss (degradation costs having to be supported by the community).

A September 14, 2007 study conducted by the National Science Foundation found that biodiversity and genetic diversity are dependent upon each other—that diversity within a species is necessary to maintain diversity among species, and vice versa. According to the lead researcher in the study, Dr. Richard Lankau, “If any one type is removed from the system, the cycle can break down, and the community becomes dominated by a single species.”[60]

At present, the most threathened ecosystems are those found in fresh water. The marking of fresh water ecosystems as the ecosystems most under threat was done by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005, and was confirmed again by the project “Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment”, organised by the biodiversity platform, and the French Institut de recherche pour le développement (MNHNP).[61]
[edit] Exotic species
Male Lophura nycthemera (Silver Pheasant), a native of East Asia that has been introduced into parts of Europe for ornamental reasons.
Main article: Introduced species

The rich diversity of unique species across many parts of the world exist only because they are separated by barriers, particularly large rivers, seas, oceans, mountains and deserts from other species of other land masses, particularly the highly fecund, ultra-competitive, generalist “super-species”. These are barriers that couldn’t have been easily crossed by natural processes, except through continental drift. However, humans have invented transportation with the ability to bring into contact species that they’ve never met in their evolutionary history; also, this is done on a time scale of days, unlike the centuries that historically have accompanied major animal migrations. As these species that never met before come in contact with each other, the rate at which species are extincting is increasing still. See below for an example.

The widespread introduction of exotic species by humans is a potent threat to biodiversity. When exotic species are introduced to ecosystems and establish self-sustaining populations, the endemic species in that ecosystem that have not evolved to cope with the exotic species may not survive. The exotic organisms may be either predators, parasites, or simply aggressive species that deprive indigenous species of nutrients, water and light. These invasive species often have features, due to their evolutionary background and new environment, that make them highly competitive; able to become well-established and spread quickly, reducing the effective habitat of endemic species.

Exotic species are introduced by human, either unwillingly or intentionally. Examples on unwilling introduction are fore example ladybugs, … These were bred to help in combating pests in agriculture (for greenhouses). Other examples of unwilling introduction are species that are unknowingly brought in by vessel or automotive. These include certain bacteria, spiders, seeds of certain plants. Examples of intentional introduction are the planting of exotic plants in gardens. It is clear that with simple measures the preventing of the spread of exotic plants, yet as of present, trying to reduce the inflow of exotic species has remained low on the political agenda. Also, the intentional planting of species that are marked as “indiginous”, yet are from a non-indigenous strain can be considered exotic and create problems in the ecosystem. For example in Belgium, Prunus spinosa (an indigenous species) that originates from Eastern Europe has been introduced. This has created problems, as the this tree species comes into leave much sooner than their West European counterparts, bringing the Thecla betulae butterfly (which feed on the leaves) into trouble.

As a consequence of the above, if humans continue to combine species from different ecoregions, there is the potential that the world’s ecosystems will end up dominated by relatively a few, aggressive, cosmopolitan “super-species”.

At present, several countries have already imported so much exotic species, that the own indigenous fauna/flora is greatly outnumbered. For example, in Belgium, only 5% of the indigenous trees remain.[62][63]

In 2004, an international team of scientists estimated that 10 percent of species would become extinct by 2050 because of global warming.[64] “We need to limit climate change or we wind up with a lot of species in trouble, possibly extinct,” said Dr. Lee Hannah, a co-author of the paper and chief climate change biologist at the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International.
[edit] Genetic pollution
Main article: Genetic pollution

Purebred naturally evolved region specific wild species can be threatened with extinction[65] through the process of genetic pollution i.e. uncontrolled hybridization, introgression and genetic swamping which leads to homogenization or replacement of local genotypes as a result of either a numerical and/or fitness advantage of introduced plant or animal.[66] Nonnative species can bring about a form of extinction of native plants and animals by hybridization and introgression either through purposeful introduction by humans or through habitat modification, bringing previously isolated species into contact. These phenomena can be especially detrimental for rare species coming into contact with more abundant ones. The abundant species can interbreed with the rarer, swamping the entire gene pool and creating hybrids, thus driving the entire native stock to complete extinction. Attention has to be focused on the extent of this under appreciated problem that is not always apparent from morphological (outward appearance) observations alone. Some degree of gene flow may be a normal, evolutionarily constructive, process, and all constellations of genes and genotypes cannot be preserved. However, hybridization with or without introgression may, nevertheless, threaten a rare species’ existence.[67][68]
[edit] Hybridization and genetics
The Yecoro wheat (right) cultivar is sensitive to salinity, plants resulting from a hybrid cross with cultivar W4910 (left) show greater tolerance to high salinity
See also: Food Security

In agriculture and animal husbandry, the green revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to increase yield by creating “high-yielding varieties”. Often the handful of hybridized breeds originated in developed countries and were further hybridized with local varieties in the rest of the developing world to create high yield strains resistant to local climate and diseases. Local governments and industry have been pushing hybridization which has resulted in several of the indigenous breeds becoming extinct or threatened. Disuse because of unprofitability and uncontrolled intentional and unintentional cross-pollination and crossbreeding (genetic pollution), formerly huge gene pools of various wild and indigenous breeds have collapsed causing widespread genetic erosion and genetic pollution. This has resulted in loss of genetic diversity and biodiversity as a whole.[69]

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using the genetic engineering techniques generally known as recombinant DNA technology. Genetically Modified (GM) crops today have become a common source for genetic pollution, not only of wild varieties but also of other domesticated varieties derived from relatively natural hybridization.[70][71][72][73][74]

Genetic erosion coupled with genetic pollution may be destroying unique genotypes, thereby creating a hidden crisis which could result in a severe threat to our food security. Diverse genetic material could cease to exist which would impact our ability to further hybridize food crops and livestock against more resistant diseases and climatic changes.[69]
[edit] Climate Change
Main article: Effect of Climate Change on Plant Biodiversity

The recent phenomenon of global warming is also considered to be a major threat to global biodiversity.[citation needed] For example coral reefs -which are biodiversity hotspots- will be lost in 20 to 40 years if global warming continues at the current trend.[75]
[edit] Conserving biodiversity
Main article: Conservation biology
The retreat of Aletsch Glacier in the Swiss Alps (situation in 1979, 1991 and 2002), due to global warming.

Conservation biology matured in the mid- 20th century as ecologists, naturalists, and other scientists began to collectively research and address issues pertaining to global declines in biodiversity.[76][77][78] The conservation ethic differs from the preservationist ethic, historically lead by John Muir, who advocate for protected areas devoid of human exploitation or interference for profit.[77] The conservation ethic advocates for wise stewardship and management of natural resource production for the purpose of protecting and sustaining biodiversity in species, ecosystems, the evolutionary process, and human culture and society.[76][78][79][80] Conservation biologists are concerned with the trends in biodiversity being reported in this era, which has been labeled by science as the Holocene extinction period, also known as the sixth mass extinction.[81] Rates of decline in biodiversity in this sixth mass extinction match or exceed rates of loss in the five previous mass extinction events recorded in the fossil record.[81][82][83][84][85] Loss of biodiversity results in the loss of natural capital that supplies ecosystem goods and services. The economic value of 17 ecosystem services for the entire biosphere (calculated in 1997) has an estimated average value of US$ 33 trillion (1012) per year![86]
A schematic image illustrating the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being, and poverty.[87] The illustration shows where conservation action, strategies and plans can influence the drivers of the current biodiversity crisis at local, regional, to global scales.

In response to the extinction crisis, the research of conservation biologists is being organized into strategic plans that include principles, guidelines, and tools for the purpose of protecting biodiversity.[76][88][89] Conservation biology is a crisis orientated discipline and it is multi-disciplinary, including ecological, social, education, and other scientific disciplines outside of biology. Conservation biologists work in both the field and office, in government, universities, non-profit organizations and in industry.[76][78] The conservation of biological diversity is a global priority in strategic conservation plans that are designed to engage public policy and concerns affecting local, regional and global scales of communities, ecosystems, and cultures.[90] Conserving biodiversity and action plans identify ways of sustaining human well-being and global economics, including natural capital, market capital, and ecosystem services.[91][92]
[edit] Means

One of the strategies involves placing a monetary value on biodiversity through biodiversity banking, of which one example is the Australian Native Vegetation Management Framework. Other approaches are the creation of gene banks, as well as the creation of gene banks that have the intention of growing the indigenous species for reintroduction to the ecosystem (eg via tree nurseries, …)[93] The eradication of exotic species is also an important method to preserve the local biodiversity. Exotic species that have become a pest can be identified using taxonomy (eg with DAISY, barcode of life[94], …) and can then be eradicated. [95]This method however can only be used against a large group of a certain exotic organism due to the econimic cost. Other measures contributing to the preservation of biodiversity include: the reduction of pesticide use and/or a switching to organic pesticides, … These measures however, are of less importance than the preserving of rural lands, reintroduction of indigenous species and the removal of exotic species. Finally, if the continued preservation of native organisms in an area can be guaranteed, efforts can be made in trying to reintroduce eliminated native species back into the environment. This can be done by first determining which species were indigenous to the area, and then reintroducing them. This determination can be done using databases as the Encyclopedia_of_life, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, … Extermination is usually done with either (ecological) pesticides, or natural predators.
[edit] Strategies

As noted above (Distribution), biodiversity is not as rich everywhere on the planet. Regions as the tropics and subtropics are considerably much richer in biodiversity than regions in temperate climates. In addition, in temperate climates, a lot of countries are located which are already vastly urbanised, and require -in addition- great amounts of space for the growing of crops. As rehabilitating the biodiversity within these countries would again require the clearing and redeveloping of spaces, it has been proposed of some that efforts are best instead directed unto the tropics. Arguments include economics, it would be far less costly and more efficient to preserve the biodiversity in the tropics, especially as many countries in these areas are only now beginning to urbanise.[96]

However, only directing the efforts into these areas would not be enough, as many species still need to migrate at certain times of the year, requiring a connection to other regions/countries. In the more urbanised countries in temperate climates, this would mean that wildlife corridors need to be made. However, making wildlife corridors would still be considerably cheaper and easier than clearing/preserving entirely new areas.
[edit] Judicial status
A great deal of work is occurring to preserve the natural characteristics of Hopetoun Falls, Australia while continuing to allow visitor access.

Biodiversity is beginning to be evaluated and its evolution analysed (through observations, inventories, conservation…) as well as being taken into account in political and judicial decisions:

* The relationship between law and ecosystems is very ancient and has consequences for biodiversity. It is related to property rights, both private and public. It can define protection for threatened ecosystems, but also some rights and duties (for example, fishing rights, hunting rights).
* Law regarding species is a more recent issue. It defines species that must be protected because they may be threatened by extinction. The U.S. Endangered Species Act is an example of an attempt to address the “law and species” issue.
* Laws regarding gene pools are only about a century old[citation needed]. While the genetic approach is not new (domestication, plant traditional selection methods), progress made in the genetic field in the past 20 years have led to a tightening of laws in this field. With the new technologies of genetic analysis and genetic engineering, people are going through gene patenting, processes patenting, and a totally new concept of genetic resources.[97] A very hot debate today seeks to define whether the resource is the gene, the organism itself, or its DNA.

The 1972 UNESCO World Heritage convention established that biological resources, such as plants, were the common heritage of mankind. These rules probably inspired the creation of great public banks of genetic resources, located outside the source-countries.

New global agreements (e.g.Convention on Biological Diversity), now give sovereign national rights over biological resources (not property). The idea of static conservation of biodiversity is disappearing and being replaced by the idea of dynamic conservation, through the notion of resource and innovation.

The new agreements commit countries to conserve biodiversity, develop resources for sustainability and share the benefits resulting from their use. Under new rules, it is expected that bioprospecting or collection of natural products has to be allowed by the biodiversity-rich country, in exchange for a share of the benefits.

Sovereignty principles can rely upon what is better known as Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements (ABAs). The Convention on Biodiversity spirit implies a prior informed consent between the source country and the collector, to establish which resource will be used and for what, and to settle on a fair agreement on benefit sharing. Bioprospecting can become a type of biopiracy when those principles are not respected.

Uniform approval for use of biodiversity as a legal standard has not been achieved, however. At least one legal commentator has argued that biodiversity should not be used as a legal standard, arguing that the multiple layers of scientific uncertainty inherent in the concept of biodiversity will cause administrative waste and increase litigation without promoting preservation goals. See Fred Bosselman, A Dozen Biodiversity Puzzles, 12 N.Y.U. Environmental Law Journal 364 (2004)
[edit] Analytical limits
[edit] Taxonomic and size bias

Less than 1% of all species that have been described have been studied beyond simply noting their existence.[98] Biodiversity researcher Sean Nee points out that the vast majority of Earth’s biodiversity is microbial, and that contemporary biodiversity physics is “firmly fixated on the visible world” (Nee uses “visible” as a synonym for macroscopic).[99] For example, microbial life is very much more metabolically and environmentally diverse than multicellular life (see extremophile). Nee has stated: “On the tree of life, based on analyses of small-subunit ribosomal RNA, visible life consists of barely noticeable twigs.

The size bias is not restricted to consideration of microbes. Entomologist Nigel Stork states that “to a first approximation, all multicellular species on Earth are insects”.[100] Even in insects, however, the extinction rate is high and indicative of the general trend of the sixth greatest extinction period that human society is faced with.[101][102] Moreover, there are species co-extinctions, such as plants and beetles, where the extinction or decline in one is reciprocated in the other

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* IHRC The Islamic Human Rights Commission is an independent, not-for-profit, campaign, research and advocacy organization based in London , UK
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* ngoCHR.org – Volunteer reporting on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
* human rights history
* Déclaration des droits de l’Homme et du citoyen
* Better World Links on Human Rights
* University of Leicester, UK, list of sources and links.
* Introduction to Human Rights & Humanitarian Law
* Photojournalist’s approach to human rights in Sudan
* A Muslim approach to human rights from LiberalIslam.net
* Mission and Justice – Human Rights, Justice and Peace news from the Asia Pacific region.
* Sri Lanka – Human Rights of the Tamil People
* Children’s Rights Alliance
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* Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
* Inquiry Into Basic Rights: Advancing Rights in the Theories of Lomasky, Shue and Gewirth – foundations and derivations of basic rights; justifications for going beyond basic rights

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* Better World Links on Human Rights Organizations
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