What is "Biodiversity"? Why is it Important ? Biodiversity is all living plants and animals (including human-kind), their genetic variation and the ecosystems on which they (and we) depend. Biodiversity is everywhere : in gardens, fields, hedgerows, mountains, cliffs and in the sea. It provides essential services such as clean air and water, pollination of crops and flood regulation – but it is also an aspect of quality of life, giving us pleasure, interest and understanding of our environment. At a local level, biodiversity is a particularly important component of local distinctiveness. Pembrokeshire is justly famous for its magnificent coast, thronged with birds and carpeted with wild flowers in the spring, quiet estuaries, steep wooded valleys and wide sweeps of heathland in the Preseli Hills. The sea and sea bed around the Pembrokeshire coast is rich in species, some of which are of considerable economic importance.