58 BIOPROSPECTING AND ITS FUTURE INTRODUCTION Biodiversity is the term used to describe the variety and profusion of life on earth. It is the subtlest and most significant feature of our environment. The multitude of the animals, fungi, plants, and even microorganisms like bacteria's, viruses that make up our natural world are all included in what is recognized as biodiversity. Around 8.7 million species of plants and animals are believed to exist according to researchers. However, to far, only around 1.2 million species, the majority of which are insects, have been recognized and described. Effective implementation of the access and benefit sharing (ABS) provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) requires a comprehensive understanding of the institutional economics of biodiversity, biological materials, biotechnological research and development processes and bioprospecting. THE TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY Biodiversity is classified into three separate types, which are: 1. Genetic biodiversity: Genetic diversity is the variety of genes and alleles that exist within a species. This means that no two individuals of the same species are exactly alike, even if they are closely related. HARSHA HARINKHEDE 1 , PRAGATI INWATI 1 , DURGESH KUMAR VERMA 2 & ARZOO KHAN 3 1College of Fisheries, Mangalore, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar - 575002, Karnataka, India 2ICAR-CIFRI, Regional Centre, Allahabad - 211002 Uttar Pradesh, India 3College of Fisheries, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Udham Singh Nagar - 263145 Uttarakhand, India *Corresponding Author: Ms. Harsha Harinkhede, Email: harshaharinkhede@gmail.com BIOPROSPECTING FOR BIODIVERSITY Chapter 7