ABSTRACT
‘Biodiversity’ is sometimes defined as having three components: genetic variation within species, species, and ‘landscapes’ (the physical environments occupied). Habitats are components of ecosystems, which often overlap, and are often somewhat arbitrarily defined. Biological conservation addresses the intertwined issues of reduction and elimination of species and degradation of their supporting environment (including their habit, ecosystem, and landscape). In the human world, prejudice against groups is addressed primarily by policies, education, legislation, and enlisting the support of key sectors of society. As noted in the following, these initiatives are also useful for alleviating prejudice against other species and promoting rational, harmonious coexistence with the natural world. Analyses of the world’s areas of high concentrations of endemic species are the best basis currently available for the identification of conservation priorities but have been criticized for being biased in species representation or unrepresentative of particularly unique or important species, or of many species that are simply restricted in distribution.
