What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It includes all living things and the ways they interact with each other and their environment. Simply put, biodiversity is life. There are three levels of biodiversity: genetic diversity — the variety of genetic information contained in individual plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms; species diversity — the variety of species; and ecosystem diversity — the variety of habitats, ecological communities and ecological processes.

Why is Biodiversity Important?

Biodiversity is about being connected. All species, including humans, depend on each other to survive. Humans depend, directly and indirectly, on biodiversity for clean air and water, food and fibre, tourism, and amazing outdoor experiences like hiking, fishing and canoeing. Conserving Ontario’s biodiversity is important because healthy ecosystems sustain healthy people and a healthy economy.

Why Report on the State of Biodiversity?

In order to protect biodiversity we have to understand it. Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy includes commitments to report on the State of Ontario’s Biodiversity and on progress in achieving Ontario's 13 Biodiversity Targets every 5 years. This reporting site includes indicators that summarize data from monitoring programs to evaluate progress in achieving each of the 13 Targets and status and trends in three biodiversity theme areas: pressures on biodiversity; state of ecosystem, species and genetic diversity; and, conservation and sustainable use. To learn more about the site and its features click here.