Global Biodiversity

The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), a body of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), has compiled a first survey and evaluation of biodiversity on a global scale (“Global Biodiversity — Status of the Earth’s Living Resources”). Although there is still a considerable lack of knowledge in this regard in some parts of the world, the study provides a comprehensive overview and identifies major areas where a particularly high biodiversity exists or the need for conservation is especially urgent. The statements herein are thus mainly taken from this publication. However, it should be pointed out that the IUCN’s rankings are purely quantitative data evaluations based mainly on species count. But the concept of biodiversity also includes qualitative aspects of individual ecosystems. Historically evolved, natural and culturally influenced landscapes as well as nature areas are not included in the IUCN’s survey. Here further statistical surveys are needed which do justice to the qualitative aspects of ecosystems. A comprehensive survey on biodiversity is contained in the reference work of the UNEP entitled “Global Biodiversity Assessment”, published in 1995. Here, a first attempt is made to analyse various ecosystem types and to correlate them with human use and its impacts on them. However, tourism as a special form of this use is not discussed, and all other impacts are described at a very general level. The United Nations Environmental Programs (UNEP) and the European Union (EU) are currently conducting a pilot study in ten bio-geographical regions of the world in which information on land use, habitat structure and landscape types are being assessed, along with data on animal and plant species, all with regard to biological and landscape diversity. The results are not yet available.