by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

About the author: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an organization created by the CBD to organize meetings, disseminate information, and in other ways assist national governments in implementing provisions of the convention.

Biological diversity—or biodiversity—is the term given to the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. The biodiversity we see today is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans. It forms the web of life of which we are an integral part and upon which we so fully depend.

This diversity is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants...