Protecting biodiversity is important for both practical and moral reasons
People rely on nature's diversity. In addition to the hundreds of domesticated species that sustain us, we make abundant use of wild species for food, fuel, and fiber. We harvest wild species for medicines, building materials, spices, and decorative items.
Many people rely on these natural resources for their livelihoods. As discussed in Concept 19.4, the natural functioning of biological communities provides valuable services to humans. All of us are dependent on a wide range of these ecosystem services, such as water purification, generation and maintenance of soils, pollination of crops, climate regulation, and flood control (Costanza et al. 2014). These life-sustaining functions are themselves dependent on the integrity of natural communities and ecosystems. Furthermore, our emotional health is improved by time spent surrounded by nature's beauty and complexity. Spiritually, we go to natural ecosystems for solace, wonder, and insight.But beyond our physical dependence on biodiversity, do we have some moral obligation to the other species that inhabit Earth? For many people, biodiversity has inherent value and warrants protection simply for that reason. For others, religious or spiritual beliefs lead to a sense of stewardship, or to the view that other species have a right to exist just as we do. Still others, however, do not share these views and see natural resources primarily as commodities that benefit human society.