29.6:
Biodiversity and Human Values
Biodiversity is a critical component of human healthy, productivity, and cultural values.
While many plants produce secondary plant compounds for defense against insects and other herbivores they can also work as medication for humans. In addition, poisons and venoms produced by animals like snakes and snails have also led tor treatments for chronic conditions such as pain and hypertension.
Humans have also been generating biodiversity in agriculture. The huge variety of crops produced today is the result of thousands of years of selective breeding to increase yields and improve taste.
Biodiversity is essential to the health of an ecosystem which provides people with clean water and air. There are a variety of diverse species like frogs, snails, and lichens that are only successful in habitats with unpolluted water and air.
Finally, many people enjoy the aesthetics of the natural world. Such an appreciation generates revenue from ecotourism and with many plants and animals deeply rooted in human culture people feel moral responsibilities to protect them.
29.6:
Biodiversity and Human Values
Human civilization relies on biodiversity in many ways. Sudden changes in species biodiversity result in environmental changes that can modify weather patterns and therefore human civilizations.
Humans are dependent on agriculture, which developed when ancestral humans found species that made suitable foods. At least 11,000 years ago, humans started to select plant and animal species to be cultivated on farms. Going back for thousands of years, humans have been artificially selecting species for food, building materials, textiles, and medicine. That progress is ongoing. Human ingenuity continues to benefit from studying the natural world and either directly using or modifying materials and compounds for industrial use. Maintaining the current level of biodiversity will make it substantially more likely that discoveries can be made.
New Discoveries
For example, in 1969, Thomas D. Brock and Hudson Freeze were studying the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park and discovered a strain of bacteria that is surprisingly heat-tolerant. From this bacteria, an enzyme called Taq polymerase was isolated. This enzyme allows researchers to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which underlies most biotechnological advancements that revolutionized the production of pharmaceuticals, food, and consumer goods among others.
For some, discoveries that benefit humanity are the strongest argument for human responsibility in maintaining biodiversity; others take a less human-centered view, arguing that biodiversity must be protected for its own sake. Since human activity has diminished biodiversity, it is our responsibility to minimize the damage.
Suggested Reading
Naeem, Shahid, Robin Chazdon, J. Emmett Duffy, Case Prager, and Boris Worm. “Biodiversity and Human Well-Being: An Essential Link for Sustainable Development.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283, no. 1844 (December 14, 2016). [Source]
Brock, T. D. “The Value of Basic Research: Discovery of Thermus Aquaticus and Other Extreme Thermophiles.” Genetics 146, no. 4 (August 1997): 1207–10. [Source]