This forgotten crisis is called biodiversity loss.

Biodiversity is a contraction of two words—biological, referring to life; and diversity, meaning variety.

Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It encompasses all life forms, from the smallest microorganism to the biggest whale. Biodiversity is the web of life that includes the full-range of ecosystems, the species that live in them, and the genetic variety of those species produced by nature or shaped by humans.