Diversity without representation

Abstract

Since the 1992 United Nations ‘Earth Summit’ conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, biodiversity has received increasing attention from scientists, governments and the public worldwide. There is growing recognition that the diversity of life on Earth, including the variety of genes, species and ecosystems, is an irreplaceable natural heritage crucial to human well-being and sustainable development. There is also clear scientific evidence that people are on the verge of a major biodiversity crisis. Virtually all aspects of biodiversity are in steep decline and a large number of populations and species are likely to become extinct this century. Despite this evidence, biodiversity is still consistently undervalued and given inadequate weight in both private and public decisions. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between science and policy by creating an international body of the biodiversity aspects.