Biodiversity is nature's gift for the survival of the human race: Some reflections

Biodiversity is one of the most used expressions in the biological sciences and has become a household word. Biodiversity is defined as all hereditarily based variation at all levels of organization from genes within a single population or species to the species comprising all or a part of a local community and finally to the communities themselves that compose the living parts of multifarious ecosystems of the world. The study of biodiversity became most important in the areas of systematics, ecology and in related fields of biology. Even physical scientists, geographers and artists were drawn into discussions. The subject has become important and today we have biodiversity science, biodiversity studies as popular disciplines, and a research institute on biodiversity, the so-called Biodiversity International. This review which is based on my personal experiences is aimed at understanding the concept of biodiversity, historical background, including its potential benefits, and emerging complexity involved with the implementation of free germplasm exchanges.