The document discusses biodiversity and its conservation. It defines biodiversity as the variety of life forms found on Earth, including genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity. Biodiversity is highest in the tropics and decreases with increasing latitude. Species diversity also increases with area. While over 1.5 million species have been identified, actual species diversity is estimated to be much higher. Habitat loss and overexploitation are major threats and have contributed to past and ongoing mass extinctions. Conserving biodiversity is important for maintaining ecosystem services, as well as ethical reasons.