What is Biodiversity? A simple definition might be

Biodiversity is the variety of living things, and the variety of ecosystems that support them.

What do we know about Biodiversity?

Very little in fact! There are approximately 3 million species worldwide, not counting bacteria. But, we have only identified a small fraction of these species, and have only a rudimentary understanding of the relationships within ecosystems.

How do we maintain biodiversity when we know so little about it?

Partial Answer:

To maintain biodiversity it is necessary to invest in protecting intact lands. Preferably old growth forests as they support the largest variety of species and ecological process, and especially the biodiversity of ancient systems we still don’t know much about.

Simply put, we must protect enough land to be confident that known and unknown biodiversity will persist over time.

Read more about Old Growth.

The big questions: How much land needs to be protected and where are these lands?

Let's start at home, by looking at geographical and political maps of our study area, the Sunshine Coast Natural Resource District (SCNRD).