Hi Euan,
I use the broad definition of biodiversity as senctioned by the US
Congressional Biodiversity Act, HR1268 (1990), according to which
"biological diversity means the full range of variety and variability
within and among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which
they occur, and encompasses ecosystem or community diversity, species
diversity, and genetic diversity."
I think biodiversity should continue to have a broad and
all-encompassing meaning, and the communication problem you mention
arises much more from the use of the term in place of more specific
ones, when we refer to specific issues. When communicating with the
public, we should be more specific when speaking about specific issues,
rather than abolishing a term that has a broad meaning, and that should
be reserved for broad themes.
The California Biodiversity Council has a compilation of scientific
definitions of biodiverstiy
(http://biodiversity.ca.gov/Biodiversity/biodiv_def2.html).
Best whishes,
Alexandre
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:05:31 -0800
From: "Ritchie, Euan" <[email protected]>
Subject: Defining biodiversity, and does the term capture the public's
attention?
Hi everyone,
I have just returned from the Ecological Society of Australia meeting
and a=
mong other issues, there was much discussion about the term
biodiversity. M=
any people argue that this term is hard to define, and importantly, the
pub=
lic have no idea what it actually means and therefore they have less
connec=
tion/concern to preserve/conserve species and habitats. I thought it
would =
be interesting to hear how others define biodiversity, and if this term
isn=
't helpful for conveying the importance of species diversity to the
public,=
what term(s) should we use?
Over to you,
Euan
Dr. Euan G. Ritchie, Lecturer in Ecology, School of Life and
Environmental =
Sciences
Dr. Alexandre F. Souza
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia: Diversidade e Manejo da Vida
Silvestre
Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS)
Av. UNISINOS 950 - C.P. 275, São Leopoldo 93022-000, RS - Brasil
Telefone: (051)3590-8477 ramal 1263
Skype: alexfadigas
[email protected]
http://www.unisinos.br/laboratorios/lecopop
