Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, including species, genes and ecosystems. It’s an essential part of our planet’s functioning and well-being. We depend on biodiversity in many ways, from the air and water we breathe to food and fuel sources. Biodiversity also helps regulate climate, prevent disease and provide recreation and other important societal services.
Biological diversity reveals the beauty of nature, from the complex webs spun by spiders to the colors and shapes of birds and fish. It underpins scientific discovery, allowing us to understand our world better and make progress in medical and other sciences. For example, greater biodiversity makes it easier to find new medicines and treatments for diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Scientists study biodiversity on all levels, from the specific genetic codes of individual organisms to entire ecosystems and the connections between them. Smithsonian scientists are at the forefront of this work, from discovering new species to developing strategies for conserving their lives and habitats.
We depend on biodiversity in countless ways, from the food and fuel we consume to the health of our environments and the ability to adapt to changing conditions. In a world where biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, we must act now to conserve and restore the natural systems that sustain us.
Biological diversity is threatened by global climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, unsustainable resource use, invasive species and pollution. The pace of species extinctions today is 10 to 100 times faster than natural rates, contributing to the current era known as the Anthropocene. In December 2022, at a meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, countries reached an historic agreement to protect biodiversity and its ecosystem services by launching the new Global Biodiversity Framework. This builds on the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and complements the 1992 Convention’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets.