UPF Inverno 2013

The term “biodiversity” refers to the variety of life forms in a

habitat, whether it‟s a local environment or an entire planet.

Most of the species making up our planetary biodiversity

are still poorly studied or completely unknown; experts

estimate that there may be at least four times as many

complex species alive on our planet as the 1.9 million that

have already been discovered and named, possibly more.

Even as we are becoming aware of the massive

biodiversity of Earth, we are also in the midst of a

biodiversity crisis, with species going extinct at rates

rivaling those of the major mass extinctions of Earth‟s

history. Therefore, while the definition of the term

“biodiversity” is simple, it in fact encompasses some of

humanity‟s (and science‟s) biggest challenges.

There are a number of reasons why understanding and

preserving biological diversity is important. Above all, every

species is unique in its combination of evolutionary history

and ecological role, so taken together they are a global

resource – like a library preserving the heritage of life

itself.

[… ]

Intrinsic value

Some believe in the philosophical and ethical principle that

nonhuman living things have intrinsic value in and of

themselves, independent of their usefulness to humans.

From a conservation standpoint, this means that humans

have a responsibility to protect the right of other species to

exist on our planet. From a scientific standpoint, it means

that other species are worthy of study simply because their

status as living things makes them relevant.

Photo credit: David Spier, Bombycilla cedrorum and Acer saccharinum, CC BY-NC-SA (Retrieved and adapted from http://eol.org/info/about_biodiversity. Access on May 02nd, 2013)