Biodiversity: A Global Perspective

Abstract

Perhaps 12 million species of eukaryotic organisms share this planet with us, together with many more kinds of bacteria and their relatives. Most of these remain unknown to us. We depend completely on other organisms for the conditions that make possible our life on Earth and supply so many of our needs. However, our rapidly growing numbers and consumption patterns are so high that we are causing one of the most devastating extinction events that have ever occurred. We are clearly running a very dangerous experiment that we must strive to deflect both locally and globally before it becomes too late. Jammu and Kashmir, located in the northwestern Himalaya, is broadly defined as home to one of the richest and most diverse assemblies of biodiversity found in South Asia. An internationally based effort to save as much of these riches as possible, therefore, merits urgent research attention.