Biological diversity – the variability of living things and the ecosystems that supports them – underpins human life and its continued existence. Sustaining that biodiversity is the greatest challenge facing mankind in the modern era. The significance of biodiversity is seen particularly well at species level. Species provide the food we eat, the plants from which much of the world’s medicine comes, the clothes we wear, the plants that re-oxygenate the air we breathe and many more benefits. Egypt is rich in natural resources, especially marine corals and desert ecosystems, both of which are delicate and need special care. Conservation of these resources is being challenged by rapid population growth, the massive scale of the development needed to support it and by the limited understanding of the values of biodiversity. This book examines the above issues and presents Egypt’s diversity, number and distribution of species.