The paper focuses on biodiversity—an issue that easily gets left out of consideration because it is hard to measure. While efforts to reduce over-fishing or conservation of water resources are relatively easy to discuss in quantitative terms, biodiversity in terms of plant species is usually covered by crude and even invalid figures. The paper begins by providing a brief historical overview of attempts to define biodiversity, going back to the early efforts in Africa to deal with conservation and showing how definitions have evolved over time and how they have shaped conservation efforts. While the main focus of the paper is a biodiversity conservation and the poor, the paper makes references to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and other important global conferences including the World Conference on Environment and Development and Convention on Biological Diversity. The paper finds that international conferences, by and large, do not adequately address the issue of biodiversity and the poor. The limited commitment shown by political leaders at the conferences should be a reason for global and local authorities to create an environment that enables communities to meet their daily needs, foster development, and conserve biodiversity.
