General Definations

1.    Biodiversity: Combined diversity at all levels of organisation. It is a contraction of the term biological diversity.
a.     Genetic Biodiversity: Variation in the genetic pattern of different organisms.
b.    Species based Biodiversity
c.     Ecological Biodiversity: Biodiversity dependent on the geography/topography of a particular area.
    

    Ecology: It is the study of living things in their natural habitat/ environment. It is vital for the conservation of biodiversity and wildlife. It focuses on the relationship between animals and plants in their natural environment and their interdependency. It can also mean relating to the environment and the way that plants, animals, and humans live together and affect each other.

       Biosphere: It is an area in which all living things native to that area exist. Each biosphere has an inner core protected area and an outer buffer zone. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life. The Indian government has established 16 Biosphere Reserves of India:
a.     The Great Rann Of Kutch
b.    The Gulf Of Mannar
c.     Sunderbans
d.    Nandadevi
e.     Nilgiri Biosphere reserve
f.      Dehong Deband
g.     Pachmahri biosphere reserve
h.     Simlipal
i.       Achanakamar-Amarkantak
j.       Manas
k.    Kanchanjunga
l.       Agastyamalai biosphere reserve
m.  Great nicobar biosphere reserve
n.    Nokrek
o.    Dibru Saikhowa
p.    Cold desert

    Sustainability: Something which can continue to be produced without using up supply /using methods that do not harm environment. It can also mean exploiting the natural resources of an area without destroying the ecological balance of that area. Ecologically, Sustainability describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems.

    Ecosystem: A functional unit of nature, where living organisms interact amongst themselves and also with the surrounding physical environment. An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight. It is all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment.