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The most ostensible manifestation of the current global environmental crisis is the destruction of natural habitats, desertification, deforestation and species extinction, all of which result in the loss of biodiversity. Unless these trends are reversed, the earth’s ability to sustain life will be severely damaged.

An encouraging sign is that governments and international agencies are prepared to come to grips with the problem. If they do indeed prove ready to confront the challenges, they will need guidance from conservation biology, which has made significant strides recently. Much of the information provided by research in this multidisciplinary field is already applied in the design and management of natural areas such as captive breeding programmes, genetic management, disease control and the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded habitats.

Genetic Banks
The role of Genetic Banks, in wildlife conservation efforts, has long been considered of great importance. Preserving the genetic material of endangered plant and animal species can help restore genetic diversity in these species and significantly contribute towards protecting biodiversity on our planet. Along the same lines, B.I.O. has been promoting the establishment of "local" Genetic Banks, as a means of protecting the enormous wealth and diversity of endemic wildlife. The information stored in these Genetic Banks would become available on computer databases and be distributed world-wide. As a result, conservation efforts could be better co-ordinated and the urgent task of preserving biodiversity would be accelerated. Furthermore, Genetic Banks could easily exchange information on newly available technology and improved methods of collecting and storing data, thus leading to an efficient and easily accessible means of retrieving the information and applying it to the benefit of biodiversity. This would result in conservation efforts that no longer took place in isolation but, belonged to a global attempt to save bios on our planet.

The conservation of biodiversity and the protection of the continuation of life on our planet define the B.I.O. scope and mission. All B.I.O. activities, projects, international conferences and educational initiatives are aimed at the protection of the environment and the preservation of the beauty and diversity of bios, the true wealth of humanity (see Progress). It is hoped that society will accept the urgency of saving biodiversity and will engage in a collective appreciation and protection of bios.