2: NATURE OF THE MIDCOAST
2.1 WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Biodiversity is a term used to describe the variety of living things in the environment. Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2019 – 2030 defines biodiversity, or biological diversity, as “the variety of all life forms on earth — the different plants, animals and micro-organisms and the ecosystems of which they are a part3.” Biodiversity includes: • Genetic diversity (the variety of genetic information in individual plants, animals and micro-organisms) • Species diversity (the variety of species) • Ecosystem diversity (the variety of habitats, ecological communities and processes). It forms the cornerstone of ecological resilience (or the ability for a given ecosystem, or species, to adequately recover from a natural or human induced loss) and provides for ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human and environmental wellbeing. Ecosystem services include the provision of clean water, the production of oxygen, the sequestration of carbon dioxide, the cycling of essential nutrients in the environment and the creation of healthy soils. 3. Commonwealth of Australia (2019) Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2019–2030, p3.
MidCoast Council: Biodiversity Framework 2021-2030 (section 1 of 4)
14
