Question

Which of the below are arguments for the preservation of biodiversity from the perspective of environmental ethics?

Answer 1

To understand conservation professionals’ perceptions of biodiversity is particularly important in the countries in transition, where the new environmental policies are being implemented, the approaches to governance are changing and new biodiversity discourses are emerging. This study investigates what the biodiversity conservation professionals in Poland believe the rationale behind conservation is. We reveal two main perspectives – one focused on intrinsic value of biodiversity and one underlining its utilitarian value. Even if the intrinsic value perspective prevails, the economic framing of biodiversity value is emerging. This framing is important in the face of the ongoing changes in Poland with focus on economic development and relatively little attention paid to biodiversity. The utilitarian approach to conservation, reinforced by the concept of ecosystem services, can be used to supplement the emerging biodiversity discourse strengthening the conservation case. The richness of perspectives among the conservation professionals can facilitate deliberate construction of the new conservation discourse in Poland combining the notion of intrinsic value of nature with the utilitarian approach.

Keywords: biodiversity professionals, ecosystem services, intrinsic value, perceptions, utilitarian value

1. Introduction

Biodiversity loss has been on international policy agenda for several decades now, yet the accelerating decline (MA 2005Millennium Ecosystem Assessment [MA]. 2005. Ecosystems and human well-being: global asessment reports. Island Press(Washington DC). [Google Scholar]) has not been stopped and we still face many challenges regarding biodiversity conservation (Pimm et al. 1995 Pimm SL, Russel GJ, Gittleman JL, Brooks TM. 1995. The future of biodiversity. Science. 269:347–350.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Stokstad 2010Stokstad E. 2010. Despite progress biodiversity declines. Science. 329:1272–1273.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). There are numerous strategies to reverse the biodiversity decline, ranging from economic, through ecological, to ethical (Rands et al. 2010Rands MRW, Adams WM, Bennun L, Butchart SHM, Clements A, Coomes D, Entwistle A, Hodge I, Kapos V, Scharlemann JPW, et al. 2010. Biodiversity conservation: challenges beyond 2010. Science. 329:1298–1303.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). Both the rationale for biodiversity conservation action and its success vary greatly, depending on the paradigms represented by various professionals in charge of conservation, as well as social-cultural and political context (Wilshusen et al. 2002 Wilshusen PR, Brechin SR, Fortwangler CL, West PC. 2002. Reinventing a square wheel: critique of a resurgent “protection paradigm” in International Biodiversity Conservation. Soc Nat Resour. 15:17–40.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Waylen et al. 2010Waylen KA, Fischer A, McGowan PJK, Thirgood SJ, Milner-Gulland EJ. 2010. Effect of local cultural context on the success of community-based conservation interventions. Conservation Biol. 24:1119–1129.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). The value of biodiversity has been also framed in different terms, ranging from purely intrinsic to different kinds of assigned values, including use and non-use instrumental values (Ehrlich & Ehrlich 1992 Ehrlich PR, Ehrlich AH. 1992. The value of biodiversity. Ambio. 21:219–226.[Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Raffaelli et al. 2009). Likewise, the arguments for biodiversity conservation have varied depending on the underlying reasons for maintaining biodiversity in general. Some authors argue that demonstrating the economic values of biodiversity is the only way to go, as people need concrete incentives to engage in action reversing biodiversity loss (e.g. Pearce 2001 Pearce DW. 2001. The economic value of forest ecosystems. Ecosys Health. 7:284–296.[Crossref], [Google Scholar]). Others argue that market-based conservation leads to selling out on nature and advocate return to focusing on the intrinsic values (e.g. McCauley 2006 McCauley DJ. 2006. Selling out on nature. Nature. 443:27–28.