How can biodiversity be maintained?

One of the most effective ways to maintain biodiversity is to protect areas that are biodiverse. One of the largest threats to biodiversity is habitat loss and degradation, thus protecting these areas is very important.

It's also important to protect larger areas of land or to ensure that smaller islands of protected habitat are connected with corridors, so that individuals can move from one small habitat to another. Buffer areas, or areas outside the main habitat you're trying to preserve, are also helpful.

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Protecting specific species is another way of maintaining biodiversity. This is especially the case for species that are cuddly, such as pandas and gorillas and so forth, because protecting these animals and their habitat often protects other animals and the effects cascade through the ecosystem.

It may also be good idea to specifically target keystone species or ecosystem engineers, as these species contribute substantially to the function and health of the ecosystem. Protecting them may protect other species as well and thus the overall biodiversity of the area.

It is also important to maintain genetic diversity, as a population or a species with low genetic diversity is more at risk to go extinct from a disturbance or chance event. This can be done by selectively breeding individuals with greater genetic diversity and protecting populations with high genetic diversity.