The Benefits of Biodiversity
Monitor Lizard( Varanus albigularis ) in Kruger The word “biodiversity” was first coined in the 1980’s and is, quite obviously, a contraction of “biological diversity”. Interestingly, the topic- as a stand alone- didn’t catch mainstream academic and societal attention until the 1990’s, by which time it was already considered to be a crisis discipline. While definitions for biodiversity vary, a generally accepted example would be “The diversity of life in all its forms and at all levels of organization; & the processes that link them with each other and the abiotic environment”. A broad, encompassing definition which brings together the 3 accepted branches of biodiversity: Genetics, Species and Ecosystems (ESA 1997). With the defining of biodiversity as a concept came the need for its application, and understanding of its relevance, to the human species. Some argued that biodiversity has value completely separate to the human context (Soule 1985)- intrinsic value- while others...