We see a large variety and number of individual organisms. They do not exist in isolation and can easily be recognized as belonging to a kind; rats, cats, humans, mango trees. A geographically localized group of individuals of the same kind at a particular time represents a Population. The sum of all the populations of the same kind forms a species. A species is, thus, defined as a group of closely related, structurally and functionally similar organisms which interbreed with one another in nature, but not with organisms of other groups.
Species are the building blocks of biodiversity and ecosystems. Species have significant aesthetic, cultural, spiritual and educational values. Species form the very foundations of our livelihoods, by providing us with what are known as goods and services. These range from physical goods including food, fuel, clothes and medicine, to essential services such as the purification of water and air, pollination and the prevention of soil erosion. Species also provide an invaluable resource for economic activities including fisheries, forestry and tourism. With continuing decline of species, nature's ability to provide us with these vital goods and services becomes severely diminished, and the livelihoods of billions of people across the globe are left in jeopardy as a result.

A living community cannot live in isolation. It lives in an environment which supplies its material and energy requirements and provides other living conditions. The living community, together with the physical environment forms an interacting system called the Ecosystem. An ecosystem can be natural or artificial, temporary or permanent. A large grassland or a forest, a small tract in a forest or a single log, an edge of a pond, a village, an aquarium or a manned spaceship can all be regarded as ecosystem. An ecosystem can thus be defined as a functional unit of nature, where living organisms interact among themselves and also with the surrounding physical environment.

India is a recognized megadiverse country with four identified hotspots of biodiversity. Of the globally recorded species, India accounts for nearly 7% of all species, about 7.6% of mammalian species, 12.6% of avian species, 6.2% of reptilian species, and 6.0% of flowering plant species. A network of 668 Protected Areas (PAs) has been established, extending over 1,61,221.57 sq.kms. (4.90%of total geographical area), comprising 102 National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 47 Conservation Reserves and 4 Community Reserves.
In all, 40 Tiger Reserves and 28 Elephant Reserves have been designated for species specific management of tiger and elephant habitats. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated five Indian protected areas as World Heritage Sites, in view of their uniqueness and richness in flora and fauna. As the ecosystems and species do not recognize political borders, the concept of Trans-boundary Protected Areas has been initiated for coordinated conservation of ecological units and corridors with bilateral and/or multilateral cooperation of the neighbouring nations. India is one of the eight primary centres of origin of cultivated plants and an acknowledged centre of crop diversity, including about 375 closely related wild species mainly of rice, several important pulses, millets, vegetables, fruits and fibre plants. In addition, nearly 140 breeds of domesticated animals are also found here.

Biodiversity encompasses the web of life on earth, of which we are an integral part and upon which we are fully dependant. We derive our supply of food, medicines, energy and many industrial products from biological resources. A rich biodiversity helps maintain ecological balance and natural evolutionary processes. India is rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, found in coded and noncoded forms, such as in our ancient texts of Indian systems of medicine, and oral undocumented traditions, respectively. With just 2.4% of the world's land area, India accounts for over 45,000 recorded species of plants and 91,000 recorded species of animals even while supporting almost 18% of human population as well as a large livestock population. The biotic pressures on our biodiversity are, therefore, immense. The wide variety of physical features and climatic situations have resulted in a diversity of ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs and deserts. India is also an acknowledged centre of crop diversity that harbours several wild varieties of crop relatives mainly of rice, maize, millets and barley. This variety is needed to help us deal with the diseases which affect crops/plants/animals from time to time.
For India, conservation of its biodiversity is crucial not only because it provides several goods and services necessary for human survival, but also because it is directly linked with providing livelihoods to and improving socio-economic conditions of millions of our people, thereby contributing to sustainable development and poverty alleviation. In the last few decades biodiversity has globally come under increasing pressure on account of factors such as habitat fragmentation, development imperatives, unsustainable consumption pattern and, more recently, global warming. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a scientific assessment carried out during 2001- 2005 on the status of world's biodiversity, found that changes and decline in biodiversity due to human activities have taken place more rapidly in the last fifty years than at anytime in human history.

The global concern over loss of biodiversity found expression in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Among the plethora of a few hundred international treaties, the CBD stands apart as the one convention that is at the heart of human well-being. India is a Party to the CBD. The three objectives of the Convention are: Conservation of biodiversity, Sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. CBD is the first comprehensive global agreement addressing all aspects relating to biodiversity. It is a framework agreement that provides for flexible country-driven approach to its implementation. The Convention has near universal membership with 193 countries as Parties.
USA is the only major country which is not a Party to the CBD. Pre-CBD, biological resources were considered as a common heritage of mankind. Recognizing the sovereign rights of States over their natural resources, CBD stipulates that the authority to determine access to its genetic resources rests with national governments and is subject to national legislation. The CBD thus sets out a new philosophy regarding the use of genetic resources. Global concerns over the potential adverse effects of modern bio-technology on biodiversity and the risks to human health led to the adoption of a supplementary agreement to the Convention on January 29,2000 known as the Cartagena Protocol on Bio safety (CPB).
The objective of the Protocol is to contribute to ensuring an adequate level of protection in the field of safe transfer, handling and use of Living Modified organisms (LM0s). The Protocol came into force on September 11,2003. As on date, 162 countries are Parties to the Protocol, including India, which acceded to the Bio safety Protocol on January 17,2003. In 2010, another supplementary agreement to CBD known as the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing Arising from their Utilization to the CBD was adopted. The Protocol has been signed by 92 countries, and as on date six countries have ratified it. The Protocol will enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth ratification.

The agenda of CoP meetings is primarily drawn from the decisions of the previous CoP. The key issues on the agenda of CoP-11 are :
• Strategic Plan: Setting national targets and updating National Biodiversity Action plan (NBAPs)
• Status of Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing
• Strategy for Resource Mobilisation : Establishment of targets, review of implementation
Other priority agenda items for CoP-11 are:
• Needs assessment for the 6th cycle of Global Environment Facility (GEF-6)
•Implications of establishment of Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) as the science-policy interface
• Guidance for fifth national report
• Implications of Global Biodiversity Outlook (GB0)-3, plan for preparation of GBO-4 progress in Celebration of United Nations Decade on Biodiversity
• Timing/periodicity of CoP meetings until 2020
• South-South Cooperation
• Ecosystem restoration
• Island biodiversity
• Marine and coastal biodiversity

As has been the practice, India as the host Government will also organize a High Level segments (HLS) From 17-19 October 2012. Unlike the agenda of CoP which is largely drawn from the decisions of the previous CoP, the agenda for the HLS is decided by the host Government in Consultation with the CBD. The following key issues have been identified for discussions in the HLS so as to advance the agenda of CoP and CBD :
•Achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Progress at National Level and Resource Mobilization
+ Biodiversity for sustainable development, livelihoods, poverty reduction and food security
+ Coastal and Marine Biodiversity
+ Implementation of Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit sharing

Several national and international organizations will get an opportunity to showcase their efforts, initiatives and programmes relating to conservation and management of biodiversity. An important event for youth is the Go4BioDiv, which has been ongoing since CoP 9. This international youth forum will give 35 young adults, between the age of 18 to 29 years from across the world, a unique opportunity to engage with CBD CoP-11.
The theme of Go4BioDiv will be 'conserving coastal and marine biodiversity for sustaining lives and livelihoods'. Ministry of Environment and Forests along with Department of Science and Technology and Indian Railways flagged off a 13 coach train called Science Express - Biodiversity special on the occasion of the World Environment Day (5th June 2012). Eight coaches of this train showcase the biodiversity and management practices of the ten bio-geographic zones of India.
This train will cover 52 stations and will be stationed at Hyderabad during CoP-11 (Oct 9 to 19, 2012). Over a million foot falls are expected during its journey. It has been decided to recognise and award the outstanding models of Biodiversity governance in India by the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme in four categories viz., Community Stewardship, Decentralised governance, Co-management and protected areas, during the High level segment of CoP-11.
Besides there will also be poster sessions, cultural programmes, film shows, science shows and other activities to promote awareness on biodiversity.

The slogan of the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties: 'Prakruti Rakshati Rakshita ("Nature protects if She is protected"), appropriately reflects the reverence for biodiversity deep rooted in Indian culture. The conservation of biodiversity is a national imperative for the country since livelihoods of millions of our people depend on it. India is committed as a megadiverse country to assume an important role in dealing with biodiversity agenda at the global level. India, thus, is ready to host the world biodiversity summit and to lead by example in promoting the biodiversity agenda at both the international and national levels.