A significant reduction in the diversity of life on earth is already a
ssured as a result of the loss and degradation of terrestrial and aqua
tic habitats over past centuries. With continued human population grow
th, biodiversity will come under even more pressure in coming decades.
Yet significant opportunities do exist to lessen the rate of extincti
on and thereby increase the amount of biodiversity that is passed on t
o future generations. Strategies for biodiversity conservation must re
organize ethical, ecological, and economic values of biodiversity if t
hey are to have the greatest possible impact. All of these values are
important in determining the costs of biodiversity loss and the benefi
ts of conservation. In recent years a coalescence of scientific inform
ation, heightened economic value, and grassroots activism has stimulat
ed an unparalleled global response to the loss of biodiversity. Linked
efforts to save study and use the earth's biodiversity sustainably an
d equitably stand the greatest chance of substantially reducing the ra
te of diversity's loss.