What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity is the very "stuff of life". It is the term given to the extraordinary variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms, from microscopic blue-green algae to the tigers that roam the jungles of Asia. Biodiversity is more than the sum of plants and animals on our planet - it also includes their spiralling codes of genetic material and the habitats they live in.

The term biodiversity, short for biological diversity, was coined at the 1992 Earth Summit after the signing of a global agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - opens in a new window. 

The CBD defines biodiversity as: "The variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes of which they are part; including diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

"It is the 'biodiversity' of Planet Earth that makes it habitable for humans. Our societies, like the millions of species who share our world, depend on its richness for sustenance.

Read more on Biodiversity: Importance, threats and societal response

→ Shell Sustainability Report 2006

Visit the online Shell Sustainability Report 2006 and discover what we say about biodiversity - opens in new window.