BIODIVERSITY AND HUMAN HEALTH
Executive Summary, page 7
by Joseph Dougherty

Biodiversity is a Sound Investment

The sheer diversity of life is of inestimable value. It provides a foundation for the continued existence of a healthy planet and our own well-being. Many biologists now believe that ecosystems rich in diversity gain greater resilience and are therefore able to recover more readily from stresses such as drought or human induced habitat degradation. When ecosystems are diverse, there is a range of pathways for primary production and ecological processes such as nutrient cycling, so that if one is damaged or destroyed, an alternative pathway may be used and the ecosystem can continue functioning at its normal level. If biological diversity is greatly diminished, the functioning of ecosystems is put at risk.

Possibly the greatest value of the variety of life may be the opportunities it gives us for adapting to change. The unknown potential of genes, species and ecosystems is of inestimable but certainly high value. Genetic diversity will enable breeders to tailor crops to new climatic conditions, while the Earth's biota is likely to hold still undiscovered cures for known and emerging diseases. A multiplicity of genes, species, and ecosystems is a resource that can be tapped as human needs change.

There is probably no single argument that can stand alone in convincing policy makers and the public alike to fight for the protection of all existing biological diversity. A more general and pragmatic approach, however, recognises that different but equally valid arguments — resource values, precautionary values, ethics and aesthetics, and simple self-interest — apply in different cases, and between them provide an overwhelmingly powerful and convincing case for the conservation of biological diversity.

The many values of biological diversity and its importance for development indicate why biological diversity conservation differs fromtraditional nature conservation. Biological diversity conservation entails a shift from a reactive posture - protecting nature from the impacts of development - to a proactive effort seeking to meet peoples' needs from biological resources while ensuring the long-term ecological sustainability of Earth's biotic wealth.

|

References on this page. Click your browser's "Back" button to return to the spot you were reading.

Institute of Medicine. 1992. Emerging Infections: Microbial Threats to Health in the United States.