THE VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY - WHERE ECOLOGY AND ECONOMY BLEND

As problems of environmental change become more evident, we increasing ly realize how much we depend upon wildlife for a wide range of so-cal led ecosystem services. These services, which include soil protection, pest control and the Supply Of clean water, are to a significant exte nt provided by natural and semi-natural ecosystems which in the past w ere thought to have little or no economic significance. This recogniti on has important implications for conservation. The emerging disciplin e of ecological economics provides methods for assessing the economic value of wildlife. While it is idle to pretend that the application of such methods will solve the biodiversity crisis, economic analysis ca n be useful in strengthening the case for conservation. Such analysis can demonstrate the potentially high economic value of wildlife, and r eveal more clearly the economic and social pressures which threaten it . It is argued that while nature reserves and other protected areas wi ll always be important, we must shift our attention increasingly to th e preservation of biological diversity within the major forms of land- use. High priority must be given to finding ways of restoring biologic al diversity and enhancing ecosystem function in those areas which hav e already been seriously damaged. In these tasks ecological economics has an important role to play. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.