Sustainable development at Global, National and local level:
Global:
Conservative estimates of the existing biodiversity is ten million species, but if estimates for insects are correct then it could be around 30 million species, we have till now enlisted about 1.4 million species.About 70% of all known species are invertebrates (animals without backbones such as insects, sponges, worms, etc.); while, about 15% are plants. Mammals, the animal group to which man belong, comprise a comparatively small number of species.
National and local level:
Biodiversity has three aspects, viz. genetics, species and ecosystem. India is recognized to be uniquely rich in all these three aspects. The country has a rich heritage of biodiversity, encompassing a wide spectrum of habitats from tropical rainforests to alpine vegetation, and from temperate forests to coastal wetlands. Almost all the bio geographical regions of the world are represented here in India. With a mere 2.4% of the total land area of the world, the known biodiversity of India contributes 8.22% of the known global biodiversity. India is one of the twelve mega-diversity nations of the world accounting for 7.31% of the global faunal and 10.88% of the global floral total species. Currently available data place India in the tenth position in the world and fourth in the Asia in plant diversity. In terms of number of mammalian species, the country ranks tenth in the world; and in terms of endemic species of higher vertebrates, it ranks eleventh. In terms of number of species contributed to agriculture and animal husbandry, it ranks seventh in the world. It is important to preserve the numerous varieties of plants and animals that belong to one species.