Turtle. Image: Digital Vision Biodiversity literally means 'the variety of life on Earth'. It includes all the different plants, animals and micro-organisms worldwide; the genes they contain and the ecosystems of which they form a part.

It provides the biological wealth that sustains human life, health and well-being – through basic needs such as better diets and new medicines, to social, recreational and cultural activities. The diversity of marine ecosystems is at least the same as that on land. Coral reefs, like tropical forests, are renowned for their enormous species diversity.

Like on land, marine biodiversity is threatened. There are many causes for loss of marine biodiversity. Among the most important are:

• habitat destruction
• over-fishing
• by-catch problems (e.g. dolphins caught in fishing nets)
• damage to coral reefs

Biodiversity is crucial to us all – which is why we all need to help protect it.

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