ABSTRACT
Biodiversity (biological diversity) refers to the total sum of biotic variation, ranging from the genetic level, through the species level and on to the ecosystem level. The concept therefore indicates diversity within and between species as well as the diversity of ecosystems. The extent or quantity of diversity can be expressed in terms of the size of a population, the abundance of different species, as well as the size of an ecosystem (area) and the number of ecosystems in a given area. The integrity or quality of biodiversity can be expressed in terms of the extent of diversity at the genetic level, and the resilience at the species and ecosystem level (Martens et al. 2003).
