54 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



resources and breeding materials to spiritual 

 and other cultural benefits. The ability to cal- 

 culate these values varies, however. In the cases 

 where markets exist, calculations are easily de- 

 termined (at least $27.4 billion per year in the 

 United States for commercially harvested wild 

 species, as noted earlier). In other cases, values 

 are more difficult to calculate, and "shadow 

 prices" may be used to approximate values for 

 such benefits as ecological processes and recre- 

 ation. For cultural and esthetic values, eco- 

 nomic valuation may be impossible. 



If humans interacted in a system with limited 

 resources, then markets would allow equilib- 

 rium prices to emerge for all commodities, serv- 

 ices, amenities and resources. These prices 

 would reflect the relative values (including so- 

 cial values) of each item. The essential prem- 

 ises for economic valuation are utility and scar- 

 city (75). 



But for most benefits of biological diversity, 

 free market principles do not apply. Mainte- 

 nance of biological diversity is a "nonrival" 

 good (it benefits everybody), and it is a "nonex- 

 clusive" good (no person can be excluded from 

 the satisfaction of knowing a species exists), 

 as are many of its benefits (research and edu- 

 cation, cultural heritage, nonconsumptive rec- 

 reation, use of genetic resources). And it is not 

 clear that market-oriented logic is adequate to 

 deal with two cardinal features of biological 

 diversity: its potential for indefinite renewabil- 

 ity (long-time horizon) and for extinction (ir- 

 reversibility) (75). 



Intrinsic Valve 



Intrinsic evaluation acknowledges that other 

 creatures have value independent of human 

 recognition and estimation of their worth. The 

 concept is both ancient and universal. A 

 spokesperson of the San people of Botswana 

 put it this way: 



Once upon a time, humans, animals, plants, 

 and the wind, sun, and stars were all able to 

 talk together. God changed this, but we are still 

 a part of a wider community. We have the right 

 to live, as do the plants, animals, wind, sun, 

 and stars; but we have no right to jeopardize 

 their existence (16). 



This preceding statement might be supported 

 by Americans who believe in "existence values" 

 —values that are defined independently of hu- 

 man uses (68). This belief implies a human obli- 

 gation not to eradicate species or habitats, even 

 if doing so harms no human. A 3-year study 

 of American attitudes toward wildlife found 

 that the majority seemed willing to make sub- 

 stantial social and economic sacrifices to pro- 

 tect wildlife and its habitats (51). Advocates of 

 wildlife protection maintain that "it makes me 

 feel better to know there are bears in the area, 

 even though I'd just as soon never run into one" 

 (76). Proponents of biological diversity argue 

 that even if diversity is functionally redundant 

 or has no utilitarian worth, it should be main- 

 tained just "because it is there." 



CONSTITUENCIES OF DIVERSITY 



Biological diversity benefits a variety of in- 

 terest groups, so its constituency is enormous 

 but fragmented by the interests of particular 

 groups. Each group may appear small com- 

 pared with the Nation as a whole. Collectively, 

 however, these groups and their combined con- 

 cern amount to the national interest in main- 

 taining biological diversity. 



Public Awareness 



A major obstacle to promoting effective and 

 long-term maintenance of biological diversity 

 is the lack of awareness on the part of the gen- 

 eral public of the importance of diversity (in 

 the broader sense). It is easy to understand why 

 the loss of biological diversity has difficulty cap- 



