Biodiversity was defined by the United Nation Earth Summit in 1992 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."
Let's just look all around us. We have variety of flowering plants, ferns, majestic trees, insects, birds, fish and animals and, the unique places they live-in such as mangrove swamps, rivers, highlands and coastal areas. The water we drink, the air we breathe and the clothes we wear all comes from nature and the complex process and services that nature does to sustain life on earth. All this living forms including us humans and the services that nature dies forms an integrated web of life. This brings about the concept of biodiversity. So far, about 1.75 million species have been identified. Scientists reckon that there are actually about 13 million species, though estimates range from 3 to 100 million.
Survival of mankind
Biodiversity gives us clean air, oxygen, water, food, shelter, clothing, medicine, and all of our basic needs for survival.
Ecosystem benefits and services
Biodiversity regulates the ecosystem and other complex biological processes and interactions including nutrient cycling, pollination, formation and protection of soil, flood control and climate regulation.
Leisure and cultural values
Biodiversity provides aesthetic, educational, recreational, religious and cultural values. In fact biodiversity plays a huge role in shaping the rich cultural diversity of many communities.
Supporting life
Biodiversity supports life on Earth for the present and the future by allowing licing organisms to adapt and evolve over changing environmental conditions.
Malaysia's Biodiversity Richness
| SPECIES BY TYPES | NUMBER OF SPECIES |
| Mammals | 306 |
| Birds | 742 |
| Reptiles | 567 |
| Amphibians | 242 |
| Marine Fish | 4,000 |
| Freshwater Fish | 449 |
| Invertebrates | 150,000 |
| Flowering Plant | 15,000 |
| Orchirds | 3,000 |
| Palms | 536 |
| Ferns | 2,012 |
| Fungi | 700 |
| Mosses | 832 |
| Microorganism | NA |
*NA - Complete data is not availble
Agency • Department of Wildlife and National Park (PERHILITAN) • Department of Marine Park Malaysia (JTLM) • Department of Biosafety (JBK)
