Bài giảng why is biodiversity important

Why is Biodiversity Important?


Values are Subjective:
Perspectives and Scales
Local
communities

Land developer

Government
agency

Oil company

Aquaculture
company

Source: Sterling/Frey © AMNH-CBC

Environment
al group


The Value of Biodiversity
• Intrinsic/inherent
value
• Extrinsic/utilitarian/
instrumental
value
Source: Burmbaugh © AMNH-CBC

Intrinsic/inherent value
• The value of
something
independent of
its value to
anyone or
anything else
• A philosophical
concept

Source: Frey © AMNH-CBC


Intrinsic/inherent value
Example: Tuatara from New Zealand

Source: Wikimedia


Categorizing Values
Direct Use
Value(Goods)

Indirect Use
Value
(Services)

Non-Use Values

Food, medicine,
building
material, fiber,
fuel

Atmospheric and Potential (or
climate
Option) Value
regulation,
pollination,
nutrient
recycling

Future value
either as a good
or service

Cultural,
Spiritual and
Aesthetic

Existence Value

Value of knowing
something exists

Bequest Value

Value of knowing

that something
will be there for
future
generations


Direct Use Value: Goods
•
•
•
•
•

Food
Building Materials
Fuel
Paper Products
Fiber (clothing,
textiles)
• Industrial products
(waxes, rubber,
oils)
• Medicine
Source: © AMNH-CBC


Food
• Today, most people rely
on ~20 types of plants,
and only 3 to 4 are

staple crops.
• Diversity is critical for
developing new strains
and breeds, i.e. that suit
a particular
environment or are
resistant to pests or
disease and as a source
of new crops

Source: © AMNH-CBC


Building Materials, Paper Products, and Fuel

• In Vietnam, 50% of
building materials for
housing in rural areas rely
on bamboo in 2002.

Source: © AMNH-CBC

• The worldwide
production of timber and
related products –
including homes,
furniture, mulch,
chipboard, paper and
packaging – is a multibillion dollar industry.

Fiber
Source: USDA Cotton Program

While synthetic fibers, such as
polyester, that are manufactured
from petroleum products are
becoming increasingly common,
cotton (Gossypium sp.) is still the
single most important textile fiber in
the world, and accounts for over
40 percent of total world fiber
production in 2003.

Fibers extracted from plants and
animals are used to produce
textiles and cloth.

Source: USDA Photo b Ken Hammond


Paper Products in Vietnam
• According to the
National Forestry
Development Strategy,
Vietnam’s annual paper
and pulp production
reached 2.2 million tons
in 2011.
• Bai Bang Paper

Company, one of the
most famous Vietnam
factories, produces
about 90 thousand tons
of paper annually.

Source: baophutho.vn


Industrial Products
Originating plant or animal
Cork oak (Quercus suber)
Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis)
Lac insect (Laccifer spp.)
Carnauba palm (Copernicia
cerifera)
Wax plant (Euphorbia
antisyphilitica)
Jojoba plant (Simmondsia chinensis)
Cochineal insect (Dactylopius
coccus)

Product/End use
Cork
Rubber
shellac
carnauba wax
candelilla wax
jojoba oil
carmine dye*

Rubber production among
top seven countries

Source: the Association of Natural Rubber-Producing Countries, 2010


Medicine
• About 80% of the
people in
developing
countries use
plants as a primary
source of
medicine.

Source: © AMNH-CBC

• 57% of the 150
most-prescribed
drugs have their
origins in
biodiversity


Pharmaceuticals and Other Molecules
Drug

Purpose

Source

Amoxicillin Antibiotic

Fungus

Captopril

Antihypertensive

Animal

Digitoxin

Cardiotonic

Plant

Morphine

Analgesic

Plant

Penicillin

Antibiotic

Fungus

Quinine

Antimalarial,
antipyretic

Plant

Salicin

Analgesic

Plant

Vinblastine Antitumor

Plant

Codeine

Analgesic

Plant

Artemisin

Antimalarial

Plant

Traditional Medicine: Basis of Many Drugs
Drug

Source

Use

Barbaloin, aloe-emodin

Aloe (Aloe spp.)

Atropine

Belladonna (Atopa
belladonna)
Opium poppy (Papaver
somniferum)
Autumn crocus
(Colchicum autumnale)
Common foxglove
(Digitalis purpurea)
Joint fir (Ephedra sinica)

antibacterial, skin
cond itions, purgative
Relaxan t, sedative

Codeine
Colchicine

Digitoxin
Ephedrine,
Pseudoephedrine
L-Dopa
Menthol
M orphine
Quinine
Reserpine
Scopolamine
Taxol
Vinblastine, vin cristine

Velvet bean (Mucuna
deeringiana)
Mint (Menta spcs.)
Opium poppy (Papaver
somniferum)
Yellow cinchona
(Cinchona ledgeriana)
Indian snakeroot
(Rauvolfia serpentina)
Thornappl e (Datura metel)
Pacific Yew (Taxus
brevifolia)
Rosy periwinkle
(Catharanthus roseus)

Painkiller
Anticanc er agen t
Cardiac stimulant

Asthma, emphysema,
bronch iodilator, hay fever
Parkinson’s disease
Nasal conges tion
Painkiller
Malaria
Hypertension
Sedative
Anticanc er
Leukemia


Medicinal plants used in Vietnam
Protected
Areas

Ethnic groups

Population

Area (km2)

No of Medicinal
Plants

Ben En

Kinh, Muong,
Thai, Tay,
Tho

18,000

15,800

230

Tran & Ziegler
2001

Banh Ma

Kinh, Ta ku,
Van kieu,
H Mong

65,000

22,031

432

On 2003

Ba Vi

Dao

46,547

6,768

503

Pu Mat

Kinh, Thai, Kho
Mu, Dan
Lai, Poong,
H Mong, O
Du, Tay

93,333

91,113

610

85,000.000

330,000.000

3200

Study
Sam et al.,
2008

Thin & Nhan
2003

Chi 1996

All

54 ethnic
groups

Source: Hoang Van Sam et al., 2008


Value of Vietnam’s non-timber
forest product exports in 1996

Source: Ha Chu Chu, 1996


Indirect Use Values: Services
• Regulating global processes,
such as atmosphere and
climate
• Soil and water conservation
• Nutrient cycling
• Pollination and seed dispersal
• Control of agricultural pests
• Genetic library
• Inspiration and information
• Scientific and educational
• Tourism and recreation
• Cultural, spiritual, and

aesthetic
• Community Resilience
• Strategic

Source: © AMNH-CBC


Global Processes:
Atmospheric Regulation
• Photosynthetic
biodiversity created
an oxygenated
atmosphere, and also
has the potential to
moderate the rising
amounts of
atmospheric carbon
dioxide linked to
global climate
change

Source: Frey © AMNH-CBC


Global Processes: Climate
Regulation
• Forests and other vegetation modify climate: by affecting
sun reflectance, water vapor release, wind patterns and
moisture loss. Forests help maintain a humid environment,
for example, half of all rainfall in Amazon basin is

produced locally from forest-atmosphere cycle

Source: Bain © AMNH-CBC


Soil and Water Conservation
Example: Coastal wetlands and mangroves
•Filters excess nutrients
and traps sediments that
would otherwise impact
neighboring marine and
aquatic areas
Other services:
•Minimizes damage from
waves and floods
•Serves as a nursery for
juvenile commercial fish
•Provides habitat for many
birds, fish, and shellfish

Source: Ersts © AMNH-CBC


Nutrient Cycling
• Biodiversity is
critical to
nutrient
cycling and
soil renewal
• Decomposers

such as algae,
fungi, and
bacteria

Source: Snyder © AMNH-CBC


Pollination and Seed
Dispersal
• Many flowering plants
depend on animals for
pollination to produce
food.

• 30% of human crops
depend on free services
of pollinators;
replacement value
estimated at least 57
billions of dollars/year in
2006 in US alone.

Source: Spector© AMNH-CBC


Economic value of ecosystem services

Source: Costanza et a., 1997

Costanza et al., 1997

estimated that the
economic value of
17 ecosystem
services for 16
biomes to be in
the range of $16-54
trillion with an
average of $33
trillion. (Global gross
national product
valued at $18 trillion
per year)