Why is biodiversity valuable?
Most conservation biologists recognize that biodiversity is valuable in two ways: • Biodiversity has utilitarian value because it benefits people directly and maintains interactions between the living and non-living parts of the environment. For example, biodiversity has provided plants for crops that feed billions of people, as well as decomposing organisms (such as bacteria and fungi) that release nutrients from organic material into soil and water. • Biodiversity also has inherent value to many people. In other words, it has worth beyond the goods and services it provides humans and ecosystems.
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- Why is biodiversity valuable?