Biological diversity refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological

complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their
relative frequency. For biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from
complete ecosystems to the chemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the
term encompasses different ecosystems, species, genes, and their relative abundance (Office of
Technology Assessment, 1987). Or to paraphrase: number and variety of species, ecological
systems, and the genetic variability they contain.

Threats to biodiversity

Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or
without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly
managed agriculturalapplications, game reserves, or nature reserves. It can also be cause by
immobile, travel restricted populations of native or non-native wild animals.

It reduces the usefulness, productivity, and biodiversity of the land and is one cause
of desertification and erosion. Overgrazing is also seen as a cause of the spread of invasive
species of non-native plants and ofweeds. It is not caused by nomadic grazers in huge populations
of travel herds, such as the American bison of the Great Plains, or migratory Wildebeests of the
African savannas, nor by holisticplanned grazing.

Preventing overgrazing

Sustainable grassland production is based on grass and grassland management, land management,
animal management and livestock marketing. Grazing management, with sustainable
agriculture andagroecology practices, is the foundation of grassland-based livestock production
since it affects both animal and plant health and productivity. There are several new grazing models
and management systems that attempt to reduce or eliminate overgrazing like Holistic
management and Permaculture

Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is
thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of
forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use. Tropical rainforests is where the most concentrated
deforestation occurs. Almost 30% of the world is covered by forests, excluding water mass.
In temperate mesic climates, natural regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in the
absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic.[4] Furthermore, biodiversity after
regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural disturbance, including biodiversity loss
after naturally occurring rainforest destruction.

Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees are cut down to be used or sold as fuel (sometimes in
the form of charcoal) or timber, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock, plantations of
commodities and settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in
damage to habitat,biodiversity loss and aridity. It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of
atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive the enemy of cover
for its forces and also vital resources. Modern examples of this were the use of Agent Orange by
the British military in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency and the United States military in
Vietnam during the Vietnam War. As of 2005, net deforestation rates have ceased to increase in
countries with a per capitaGDP of at least US$4,600. Deforested regions typically incur significant
adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade intowasteland.

Disregard of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of
the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both
naturally occurring and human induced, is an ongoing issue. Deforestation causes extinction,
changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by
current conditions and in the past through the fossil record. More than half of all plant and land
animal species in the world live in tropical forests.

Between 2000 and 2012, 2.3 million square kilometres (890,000 square miles) of forests around
the world were cut down. As a result of deforestation, only 6.2 million square kilometres
(2.4 million square miles) remain of the original 16 million square kilometres (6 million square
miles) of forest that formerly covered the earth

Erosion

In earth science, erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow orwind) that
remove soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, then transport it
away to another location. The particulate breakdown of rock or soil into clastic sediment is
referred to as physical or mechanical erosion; this contrasts with chemical erosion, where soil or
rock material is removed from an area by its dissolving into a solvent (typically water), followed
by the flow away of that solution. Eroded sediment or solutes may be transported just a few
millimetres, or for thousands of kilometres.

Natural rates of erosion are controlled by the action of geomorphic drivers, such asrainfall;
bedrock wear in rivers; coastal erosion by the sea and waves; glacialplucking, abrasion, and scour;
areal flooding; wind abrasion; groundwaterprocesses; and mass movement processes in steep
landscapes like landslides anddebris flows. The rates at which such processes act control how fast
a surface is eroded. Typically, physical erosion proceeds fastest on steeply sloping surfaces, and
rates may also be sensitive to some climatically-controlled properties including amounts of water
supplied (e.g., by rain), storminess, wind speed, wave fetch, or atmospheric temperature
(especially for some ice-related processes). Feedbacksare also possible between rates of erosion
and the amount of eroded material that is already carried by, for example, a river or
glacier. Processes of erosion that produce sediment or solutes from a place contrast with those
of deposition, which control the arrival and emplacement of material at a new location.

While erosion is a natural process, human activities have increased by 10-40 times the rate at which
erosion is occurring globally. Excessive (or accelerated) erosion causes both "on-site" and "off-
site" problems. On-site impacts include decreases in agricultural productivity and (on natural
landscapes) ecological collapse, both because of loss of the nutrient-rich upper soil layers. In some
cases, the eventual end result is desertification. Off-site effects include sedimentation of
waterways and eutrophication of water bodies, as well as sediment-related damage to roads and
houses. Water and wind erosion are the two primary causes of land degradation; combined, they
are responsible for about 84% of the global extent of degraded land, making excessive erosion one
of the most significant environmental problems world-wide.

Intensive agriculture, deforestation, roads, anthropogenic climate change and urban sprawl are
amongst the most significant human activities in regard to their effect on stimulating
erosion. However, there are many prevention and remediation practices that can curtail or limit
erosion of vulnerable soils.
Desertification

Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes
increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. It is caused
by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities.Desertification is a significant
global ecological and environmental problem.

Causes

The immediate cause is the removal of most vegetation. This is driven by a number of factors,
alone or in combination, such as drought, climatic shifts, hi tillage for agriculture, overgrazing and
deforestation for fuel or construction materials. Vegetation plays a major role in determining the
biological composition of the soil. Studies have shown that, in many environments, the rate of
erosion and runoff decreases exponentially with increased vegetation cover.Unprotected, dry soil
surfaces blow away with the wind or are washed away by flash floods, leaving infertile lower soil
layers that bake in the sun and become an unproductive hardpan. Controversially, Allan
Savory has claimed that the controlled movement of herds of livestock, mimicking herds of
grazing wildlife, can reverse desertification.

ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION

The degradation of ecosystems is an environmental problem that diminishes the capacity of species
to survive. This degradation occurs in different ways and is manifested in a reduction in the
richness of the ecosystems as well as their biological diversity, and in the goods and services they
can offer, thereby affecting indigenous and/or migratory species. The degradation of ecosystems
due to overexploitation of their resources, though serving a short-term economic goal, has had
direct negative effects on social welfare in the medium and long terms. As long as the ecosystem
is not degraded, it represents a source of wealth for society, hence the importance of keeping it in
good condition.

One of the main causes that contributes to the degradation of ecosystems is the deforestation due
to the advance of the agriculture frontier and inappropriate forest exploitation. More lands are
deforested for commercial agriculture and live-stock rearing, and due to overexploitation of forest
for wood and energy. In Nicaragua deforestation rates reach over 150,000 hectares per year and in
Costa Rica over 18,500 hectares per year.

At a lower scale, another problem is the uncontrolled fires used to prepare land for agricultural
activities or to remove forest for the development of stock rearing areas. This practice eliminates
the organic covering of the land, making it more susceptible to erosion by both wind and water. In
addition, the fires cause health problems and detract from the aesthetic value of the landscape.

Accidental or natural fires are another case in point. They affect areas of natural forest. In the
Upala and Los Chiles cantons, in Costa Rica, some 10,000 hectares were burned between 1998
and 1999. This problem is even more serious in the Nicaraguan territory of the basin.

Equipment is lacking and communities need to be organized to control these fires as one of the
main barriers to the burning of large areas.

The construction of roads without proper drainage measures or in territories subject to penetration
and settlement are high-stress factors for ecosystems, especially those which are highly fragile as
a result of their weather conditions and the nature of their soil and water.

Mining and the extraction of construction materials without taking measures to cushion the impact
cause drastic changes in the natural landscape while degrading its valuable ecosystems.

Wetlands are very fragile ecosystems that are being severely affected, causing a reduction in the
number and diversity of the species of terrestrial flora, birds, reptiles, mammals, fish, and
crustaceans. This problem results from excessive exploitation of wildlife species either to feed the
population, to trade their furs, or to trade live species, and from sedimentation, which causes
changes in water quality, thereby significantly affecting the reproduction of aquatic species that
live and/or reproduce in the wetlands.

The SJRB wetlands are very valuable ecosystems, which regulate the hydrological cycle and
provide food and shelter for hundreds of species, including large quantities of migratory birds. One
major cause of the deterioration of this ecosystem is the draining of wide areas of wetlands to give
access to agricultural zones or human settlements. Aerial photographs of the Caño Negro sector
show how the pools of water have diminished over time, due in part to the drainage of wetlands
for agricultural purposes and to the sedimentation occurring in recent years in the basin. Owing to
the deterioration of these areas and the pressure of the neighboring communities on the use of the
natural resources of the wetlands, it is necessary to draw up management plans to outline the
socioeconomic characteristics of users and guidelines for usage, since people are highly dependent
on these resources for their survival. A large portion of the ecological problems of the wetlands is
due to ignorance of their benefits.

The use of inappropriate fishing techniques endangers the existence of certain species, altering the
food chain of aquatic fauna and consequently deteriorating the aquatic ecosystems. This is the case
of the bull shark that is now hard to find in Lake Nicaragua or in the San Juan River. In some
cases, the introduction of exotic species endangers the existence of indigenous species with a high
cultural value. Such is the case of the guapote, whose numbers are being reduced by the
introduction of tilapias. The deterioration of ecosystems is exacerbated by the lack of an
institutional presence in the territory, be it for technical or economic reasons, or a combination of
both. As a result, laws on the regulation and control of natural resource use are not enforced. The
participation of civil society in controlling the use and exploitation of natural resources is limited
and, in many cases, very timid or markedly apathetic.

One aspect that has not been evaluated in the degradation of the ecosystems is the incidence of
different phenomena on these systems. The geographic location of the SJRB and the various
geographic accidents encountered there render it susceptible to the impact of various events of this
kind. In the SJRB there are a number of active volcanoes, which spew gas and ash causing damage
to the plant life, the soil, polluting water bodies, and causing severe damage to entire populations.
These volcanoes include the Masaya, the Maderas, and the Irazú. Another natural phenomenon in
the SJRB is landslides which, though located in specific areas, cause damage to the ecosystems,
the soil, pollute water bodies, damage infrastructure and entire settlements. The Maderas volcano
on the island Ometepe is a case in point.

Similarly, during the last century, the SJRB has suffered the destructive effects of at least three
hurricanes which, with their heavy rainfall, cause flooding damaging ecosystems, eroding soil,
diverting river courses, causing severe damage to infrastructure and entire populations, resulting
in the loss of human lives. Other natural phenomena that have caused damage to the ecosystems
of the SJRB are the droughts that have occurred as a result of the El Niño and seismic activity,
which have changed river courses, particularly in the case of the Tipitapa River that provided a
permanent connection between the Managua and Nicaragua lakes. As a result of an earthquake
during the last century, the riverbed rose in a certain sector cutting off the existing connection
between the two lakes.

The degradation of the ecosystems makes the economic and social infrastructure of the SJRB more
vulnerable and increases the potential impact on the population. This vulnerability is reflected in
shorter periods between the occurrence of floods or droughts and the soil becomes more unstable.
Possible solutions to the problem of deterioration of the ecosystems include developing formal and
informal environmental education programs to make farmers more aware of their actions;
increasing enforcement of the existing legislation; promoting proper natural resource management;
and promoting the organization of grassroots groups to control burning from the outset. To prevent
or mitigate the damage caused by extreme conditions, such as flooding and droughts and other
effects of natural phenomena, it is necessary to set up and early warning system about possible
swelling of water bodies and to monitor hydrometeorological behavior. It is also necessary to set
up a seismographic network to monitor the behavior of volcanoes and tectonic faults. Similarly,
social organization is necessary to design and test emergency plans for natural phenomena, to
reduce the damage they cause.

Institutions responsible for the control and regulation of natural resource use must be strengthened,
both technically and economically, and be given the means for their mobilization. This would
enable them to have a real presence in the territory. It is also necessary to create mechanisms for
enforcing the current legislation.

Bioinvasion

In an increasingly globalized world, plants, animals, and microbes are introduced more and more
frequently into regions that had never hosted them. These "invasive" or "exotic" species can be a
destabilizing influence in ecosystems that lack the natural enemies needed to check the spread of
exotics. Without such checks, exotics can overrun ecosystems, leaving an impoverished and less
resilient environment that is more vulnerable to stresses. Worldwatch research, especially through
the book Life Out of Bounds, has been influential in positioning this new challenge to biodiversity
on the global public agenda.

1. The rapid expansion of a species into regions where it had not previously existed, often as
a result of human agency

An invasive species is a plant, fungus, or animal species that is not native to a specific location
(an introduced species), and which has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage
to the environment, human economy or human health

Measuring biodiversity

a quantification of values that are commonly shared among locally affected organisms, including
humans

• Alpha diversity refers to diversity within a particular area, community or ecosystem, and is
measured by counting the number of taxa within the ecosystem (usually species)
• Beta diversity is species diversity between ecosystems; this involves comparing the number of
taxa that are unique to each of the ecosystems.
• Gamma diversity is a measurement of the overall diversity for different ecosystems within a
region.

Ecological diversity is a type of biodiversity. It is the variation in theecosystems found in a region

or the variation in ecosystems over the whole planet. Ecological diversity includes the variation in
both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecological diversity can also take into account the
variation in the complexity of a biological community, including the number of different niches,
the number of trophic levels and other ecological processes. An example of ecological diversity
on a global scale would be the variation in ecosystems, such as deserts, forests, grasslands,
wetlands and oceans. Ecological diversity is the largest scale of biodiversity, and within each
ecosystem, there is a great deal of both species and genetic diversity.

Species diversity is the number of different species that are represented in a given community (a
dataset). The effective number of species refers to the number of equally abundant species needed
to obtain the same mean proportional species abundance as that observed in the dataset of interest
(where all species may not be equally abundant). Species diversity consists of two
components: species richness and species evenness. Species richness is a simple count of
species, whereas species evenness quantifies how equal the abundances of the species are

Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species.
It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics
to vary.

Genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments. With more
variation, it is more likely that some individuals in a population will possess variations
of alleles that are suited for the environment. Those individuals are more likely to survive to
produce offspring bearing that allele. The population will continue for more generations because
of the success of these individuals.

Functional diversity is a component of biodiversity that generally concerns the range of things
that organisms do in communities and ecosystems. the number, type and distribution of functions
performed by organisms within an ecosystem. Functional diversity generally involves
understanding communities and ecosystems based on what organisms do, Measuring functional
diversity requires, ideally, each of the
following:
(1) Appropriate functional information (traits) about
organisms to be included in the measure
(2)Traits to be weighted according to their relative
functional importance
(3)The statistical measure of trait diversity to have
desirable mathematical characteristics
(4)The measure to be able to explain and predict variation
in ecosystem level processes

Vegetative expansion, seasonal regeneration in vegetation gap, persistent seed or spore bank,
numerous widely dispersed seeds or spores, persistent juveniles.

Systematic diversity
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present,
and therelationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as
evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phylogenies have
two components, branching order (showing group relationships) and branch length (showing
amount of evolution). Phylogenetic trees of species and higher taxa are used to study the evolution
of traits (e.g., anatomical or molecular characteristics) and the distribution of organisms
(biogeography).

Flora of Pakistan

Pakistan's native flora reflects its varied climatic zones, which range from arid and semi-arid to
temperate and tropical. For further details of habitats, see Ecoregions of Pakistan, Forestry in
Pakistan and Wildlife of Pakistan.

Distribution

Northern highlands and valleys

Pakistan has conifer forests in most of the northern and north-western highlands. These occur from
1,000 to 4,000 m altitudes. Swat, Upper Dir, Lower
Dir, Malakand, Mansehra and Abbottabad districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-
West Frontier Province) are the main areas covered with coniferous forests. Pindrow fir (Abies
pindrow) and Morinda spruce (Picea smithiana) occupy the highest altitudes, deodar (Cedrus
deodara) and blue pine (Pinus wallichiana), the intermediate heights, and chir pine (Pinus
roxburghii), occupy the lower areas.

Eastern plains and deserts

In most of Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains have many fluvial landforms that support various
natural biomes including tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forestry as well
as tropical and xeric shrublands (deserts of Thal in Punjab,Tharparkar in Sindh) and kair
(Capparis aphylla) which provide firewood. The riparain woodlands grow in narrow belts along
the banks of River Indus and its tributaries. Main tree varieties are of sheesham and babul and
main shrub varieties are reed beds and tamarisk (Tamarax dioica) bushes.

Wetlands and coastal regions

In the south of Sindh are Indus River Delta in west and Great Rann of Kutch in east. The
largest saltwater wetland in Pakistan is the Indus River Delta. Unlike many other river deltas, it
consists of clay soil and is very swampy. The Great Rann of Kutch below the Thar Desert is not
as swampy and exhibits shrubland vegetation of rather dry thorny shrubs as well as marsh grasses
of Apluda and Cenchrus. Other saltwater wetlands are located on the coast of Balochistan such as
atSonmiani and Jiwani. These and Indus River Delta support mangrove forestry, mainly of
species Avicennia marina.

Title Symbol Picture

National tree Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)

 National flower Poet's Jasmine (Common Jasmine)

National fruit Mango (Mangifera indica)

Coming back to the rivers, Pakistan has 198 freshwater species of fish including 15 introduced
species. The fish fauna is predominantly south Asian, with some west Asian and high Asian
elements. Among these are the nine species of snow trout (sub-familySchizothoracinae) that
occur in rivers of the northern mountains. These fish are representatives of an ecologically
interesting group of fish confined to (only present in) snow fed rivers and lakes of the high Asian
region. Species richness is highest in the Indus river system, in the Kirthar Range and in the
Himalayan foothills, while the river systems of north-east Balochistan have the highest levels of
endemism.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity

Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals:

1. conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity)

2. sustainable use of its components; and
3. fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources

In other words, its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable
use of biological diversity. It is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development.

The convention recognized for the first time in international law that the conservation of biological
diversity is "a common concern of humankind" and is an integral part of the development process.
The agreement covers all ecosystems, species, and genetic resources. It links traditional
conservation efforts to the economic goal of using biological resources sustainably. It sets
principles for the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources,
notably those destined for commercial use. It also covers the rapidly expanding field of
biotechnology through its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, addressing technology development
and transfer, benefit-sharing andbiosafety issues. Importantly, the Convention is legally binding;
countries that join it ('Parties') are obliged to implement its provisions.

The convention reminds decision-makers that natural resources are not infinite and sets out a
philosophy of sustainable use. While past conservation efforts were aimed at protecting particular
species and habitats, the Convention recognizes that ecosystems, species and genes must be used
for the benefit of humans. However, this should be done in a way and at a rate that does not lead
to the long-term decline of biological diversity.

The convention also offers decision-makers guidance based on the precautionary principle that
where there is a threat of significant reduction or loss of biological diversity, lack of full scientific
certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to avoid or minimize such a
threat. The Convention acknowledges that substantial investments are required to
conserve biological diversity. It argues, however, that conservation will bring us significant
environmental, economic and social benefits in return.

The Convention on Biological Diversity of 2010 would ban some forms of geoengineering

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora, also known as theWashington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered
plants and animals. It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of
members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The convention was
opened for signature in 1973. and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975. Its aim is to ensure
that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of
the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of
animals and plants. In order to ensure that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
was not violated, the Secretariat of GATT was consulted during the drafting process

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use
of wetlands.[1] It is also known as theConvention on Wetlands. It is named after the city
of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.
Every three years, representatives of the Contracting Parties meet as the Conference of the
Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the Convention which adopts decisions
(Resolutions and Recommendations) to administer the work of the Convention and improve the
way in which the Parties are able to implement its objectives.

The most recent COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay in 2015. COP13 will take place
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2018.

Wetlands are vital for human survival. They are among the world’s most productive environments;
cradles of biological diversity that provide the water and productivity upon which countless species
of plants and animals depend for survival.

Wetlands are indispensable for the countless benefits or “ecosystem services” that they provide
humanity, ranging from freshwater supply, food and building materials, and biodiversity, to flood
control, groundwater recharge, and climate change mitigation.

Yet study after study demonstrates that wetland area and quality continue to decline in most
regions of the world; 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the last century. As a result,
the ecosystem services that wetlands provide to people are compromised.

Managing wetlands is a global challenge, and the Convention’s 169 Contracting Parties recognize
the value of having one international treaty dedicated to a single ecosystem. By setting
international standards for wetland conservation and providing a forum for discussing global
wetland issues, the Convention enables Contracting Parties to share information on wetlands and
address issues together.

The Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. It includes all lakes and rivers, underground
aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal
flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish
ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.