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Loss of biodiversity - caused and solved by globalisation?: Difference between revisions
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Loss of biodiversity - caused and solved by globalisation? (view source)
Revision as of 20:07, 10 January 2010
, 20:07, 10 January 2010→Value
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Talking about biodiversity loss the value of the variety of life must become clear: On the one hand there is a direct use-value: Consumption or production of marketable commodities: Providing products for example food, medicine, industrial ones, recreation, genetic information for medicine etc. | Talking about biodiversity loss the value of the variety of life must become clear: On the one hand there is a direct use-value: Consumption or production of marketable commodities: Providing products for example food, medicine, industrial ones, recreation, genetic information for medicine etc. | ||
On the other hand there are indirect use-values, more difficult to quantify: More diverse systems are more resilience in the fact of natural and anthropogenic variations in their environment (cf. Heal, 2002, p. 3). This value stands for itself but is as well related to the main indirect use-value: Ecosystem services- on that all people fundamentally depend. For example: bacteria and microbes that transform waste into usable products or coral reefs and mangroves that protect coastlines (cf. UNEP, 2007, p. 158). In newer times lots of economic science tries to quantify in monetary aspects these ecosystem functions: For example “Honeybees as pollinators for agricultural crops – US$ 2-8 billion/ year” (UNEP, 2007, p. 161).<ref> For further information about assessing the the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being visit [http://www.millenniumassessment.org ''Millenium Ecosystem Assessment''] </ref> | On the other hand there are indirect use-values, more difficult to quantify: More diverse systems are more resilience in the fact of natural and anthropogenic variations in their environment (cf. Heal, 2002, p. 3). This value stands for itself but is as well related to the main indirect use-value: Ecosystem services- on that all people fundamentally depend. For example: bacteria and microbes that transform waste into usable products or coral reefs and mangroves that protect coastlines (cf. UNEP, 2007, p. 158). In newer times lots of economic science tries to quantify in monetary aspects these ecosystem functions: For example “Honeybees as pollinators for agricultural crops – US$ 2-8 billion/ year” (UNEP, 2007, p. 161).<ref> For further information about assessing the the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being visit [http://www.millenniumassessment.org ''Millenium Ecosystem Assessment'']. </ref> | ||
Apart from these use-values biological diversity may have a variety of non-use values including | Apart from these use-values biological diversity may have a variety of non-use values including | ||
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Many of the services provided by biodiversity (and therfore biodiversity itself) are global public goods and it is hardly to imagine if these services go down or cease to apply. For example how could the agricultural sector and an important part of our daily food production survive without the ecosystem service of pollination; what about the fact that the soil offers us clean ground water we are depending on; what is if one relative is death-sick, but the genetic material containing the idea for the medicine saving his life became extinct years ago and finally everybody himself/ herself should imagine what it would mean to live in a world just with monoculture or with less ecosystems in terms of everybody feeling happy when there is the end of winter and the beginning of spring. | Many of the services provided by biodiversity (and therfore biodiversity itself) are global public goods and it is hardly to imagine if these services go down or cease to apply. For example how could the agricultural sector and an important part of our daily food production survive without the ecosystem service of pollination; what about the fact that the soil offers us clean ground water we are depending on; what is if one relative is death-sick, but the genetic material containing the idea for the medicine saving his life became extinct years ago and finally everybody himself/ herself should imagine what it would mean to live in a world just with monoculture or with less ecosystems in terms of everybody feeling happy when there is the end of winter and the beginning of spring. | ||
Because of the concept of global public goods a change in these goods would haven an impact for everybody on this planet<ref> For more information about the concept of global public goods visit the website of the UNDP, that original developed this concept- [http://www.undp.org/globalpublicgoods/ ''UNDP-Website about global public goods''] </ref> and a high conflict-potential. | Because of the concept of global public goods a change in these goods would haven an impact for everybody on this planet<ref> For more information about the concept of global public goods visit the website of the UNDP, that original developed this concept- [http://www.undp.org/globalpublicgoods/ ''UNDP-Website about global public goods'']. </ref> and a high conflict-potential. | ||
==Loss of Biodiversity== | ==Loss of Biodiversity== | ||