Biodiversity means "the variety of life on earth," It is the variability of all living organisms — including animal and plant species — the genes of all living organisms, and the terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems of which they are part of. Thus, in essence, biodiversity represents all life.
Biodiversity also includes the structure of the ecosystems and habitats that support essential living resources, including wildlife, fisheries and forests. It composes ecosystems that maintain oxygen in the air, enrich the soil, purify the water, protect against flood and regulate climate. Thus, it plays a great role in fulfilling basic human needs such as food, shelter, and medicine.
India contains a great wealth of biological diversity in its forests, its wetlands and in its marine areas. The country is one of the mega biodiversity centres in the world and has two of the world's 18 'biodiversity hotspots', located in the Western
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