

Introduction
Biodiversity is defined as the variety of all living organisms on Earth at all levels of organisation. It includes organisms that occur on land, in the sea and in fresh water, and includes bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants, and invertebrate and vertebrate animals. The definition of biodiversity also encompasses the diversity of the genetic material within each species and the diversity of ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the diversity of ecological and evolutionary processes that are performed by genes and species, and the interactions among them.