Canterbury, United Kingdom

Biodiversity Management

Language: English Studies in English
Subject area: economy and administration
University website: www.kent.ac.uk
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Biodiversity
Biodiversity, a portmanteau of biological (life) and diversity, generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), biodiversity typically measures variation at the genetic, the species, and the ecosystem level. Terrestrial biodiversity tends to be greater near the equator, which seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary productivity. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth, and is richest in the tropics. These tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10 percent of earth's surface, and contain about 90 percent of the world's species. Marine biodiversity tends to be highest along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots, and has been increasing through time, but will be likely to slow in the future.
Management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a not-for-profit organization, or government body. Management includes the activities of setting the strategy of an organization and coordinating the efforts of its employees (or of volunteers) to accomplish its objectives through the application of available resources, such as financial, natural, technological, and human resources. The term "management" may also refer to those people who manage an organization.
Biodiversity
At Rio+20 we will continue to make the links between sustainable development and the biodiversity and ecosystem services which underpin it, focusing on the additional issues now being addressed, such as the health of oceans and food security.
Helen Clark in:"Helen Clark: UNDP's Pragmatic Visionary"
Biodiversity
We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity. We should not knowingly allow any species or race to go extinct.
Edward O. Wilson in: The Diversity of Life, Harvard University Press, 1992, p. 351
Biodiversity
Scientists themselves readily admit that they do not fully understand the consequences of our many-faceted assault upon the interwoven fabric of atmosphere, water, land and life in all its biological diversity. Things could turn out to be worse than the current scientific best guess. In military affairs, policy has long been based on the dictum that we should be prepared for the worst case. Why should it be so different when the security is that of the planet and our long-term future?
Charles, Prince of Wales in: Martin Rees Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning, Basic Books, 1 March 2009, p. 112-13
To understand changes observed in the aerosol layer of the stratosphere, scientists use remote sensing to collect relevant data. EU funded scientists are now 4D modelling aerosol formation and transport, in particular after volcanic eruptions.
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