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Loss of biological diversity has accelerated to such a degree that most biologists consider this age to be the Holocene Extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports that the global rate of species being lost is now occurring 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than at any other time during the past four billion years. Our planet could lose as much as 25% of its species within 30 years. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Biodiversity Assessment affirms that more than 31,000 plants and animals are presently threatened with extinction. Understanding and valuing biodiversity—measured by ecosystems, species and genes—is an essential step to slow this onslaught.

Natural events cannot be blamed for this increased rate of extinctions worldwide. Human-based activities cause habitat destruction and fragmentation. Climate changes create ecosystem instability by changing sea and snow levels, temperatures and weather patterns. Countless flora and fauna are threatened by the indirect impacts of pollutants such as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides; and also by the direct impacts of poaching and unsustainable fishing. Invasive and introduced species cause diseases, as well as compete with and prey upon native species and their natural diets. Simply stated, native creatures cannot adapt quickly enough to the pervasive devastation we’ve instigated.

True Costs Don’t Hit the Wallet
Scientists warn that maintaining biodiversity is crucial. This should be obvious if we remember that our Earth’s natural capital includes a pharmaceutical treasure chest of potential new antibiotics, pain killers and disease treatments yet untapped. Moreover, the long-term socioeconomic impacts of lost biodiversity are likely to be extreme and include forfeited economic opportunities that come from various harvesting or commercial use of natural resources. For example, the significance of natural processes such as pollination has enormous importance not itemized to dollar costs.

The natural processes provided by a healthy ecosystem must be valued as natural capital in the same way we value social and human capital. A recent news story by the BBC notes that biodiversity is often devalued, described in overly emotional terms or ignored by the media. Yet biodiversity destruction has a quantifiable economic cost. According to this article, the director of Deutsche Bank’s Global Markets reported that 6% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could be wiped out by 2050 if current rates of biodiversity loss continue unchecked.

The UNEP’s survey also reports that the destruction of about one-third of global habitat has translated into economic costs. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner asserts that putting a price on biodiversity loss "is a first step in trying to bring biodiversity and their ecosystems and their values to our economy, our societies, into a more visible arena. Much of the gross domestic product indicators do not capture those values. For instance when you have an oil spill today, the clean-up operation is actually a positive contribution to GDP growth but we do not count what we actually lose in terms of natural capital and future services to our societies.

Kemal Dervis, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), worries about the effect of habitat and species loss in terms of poverty reduction, a key component of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals: "People everywhere, and particularly the rural poor, depend on biodiversity for food, fuel, shelter, medicines and livelihoods. Unless we can slow down the rapid extinction rate, which is currently being greatly accelerated by climate change, biodiversity loss will seriously jeopardize our prospects for achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015."

How Do We Assess Value?
Putting a price tag on healthy habitats and bountiful species may seem distasteful and absurd to many. Aesthetic, spiritual and cultural values of a healthy, balanced ecosystem do not easily lend themselves to dollar values; these are intrinsic concepts that add to our quality of life. Our own well-being as a species is dependent upon a healthy Earth, and this is a reflection of the extraordinary diversity of her creatures.

Two ecological concepts must be embraced internationally:

• The ecosystem approach promotes sustainable environmental practices by recognizing that all elements of land, water and organisms are dynamically linked together, rather than the traditional approach of concentrating on a single species alone.
• The precautionary principle means if an action is potentially harmful or irreversible to the environment, particularly in the absence of scientific certainty, we must err on the side of caution. Thus we must maximize our ethical responsibility in maintaining protection of biological diversity.

We need capable, educated leaders who heed the advice of scientists to fulfill these criteria. We must also invest in a society educated in environmental processes and knowledgeable of our own place within the global ecosystem. Humans are the only species that have the ability, and therefore the responsibility, to preserve biodiversity. Extinction allows no second chances.

Additional resources:
The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson

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