Conservation

Values &
Ethics

Photo of Auguste Rodins The Thinker from Wikipedia

Ethics
The philosophy of morality,
which is concerned with
what is right (good, legal, etc.)
and wrong (bad, illegal, etc.)
Ethical principles constrain selfserving behavior in deference
to some other good

Photo of Auguste Rodins The Thinker from Wikipedia

Value
Worth in usefulness or
importance to the
possessor

Photo of Auguste Rodins The Thinker from Wikipedia;

Definition from The American Heritage Dictionary (1973)

Instrumental Value
Value that Nature has
as a means to anothers
(i.e., mankinds) end
Anthropocentric viewpoint
(i.e., from the perspective of
Homo sapiens as possessor)

Map from pubs.usgs.gov; photo of grizzlies from Wikipedia

Intrinsic Value
Value that Nature has
as an end in itself
Biocentric or ecocentric viewpoint
(i.e., from the perspective of Nature
as possessor)
E.g., biodiversity is valuable simply
because it exists
E.g., non-human species
have rights

Photos from Wikipedia

Instrumental & Intrinsic Value

Instrumental

Value

- Material
- Non-material

Intrinsic

Anthropocentric

Biocentric

Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists

in the U. S.
Gifford Pinchot (1865 1946)
First Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (1905 1910)

Coined conservation ethic

Resource Conservation Ethic

Utilitarian, anthropocentric natural resource philosophy;
the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time
Photo from Wikipedia

Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists

in the U. S.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 1882)
Nature (1836)

Henry David Thoreau (1817 1862)

Walden (1854)

John Muir (1838 1914)

Founded Sierra Club (1892)

Romantic-Transcendental Conservation Ethic

Nature has uses other than human economic gain; biophilia

Image of Emerson, photos of Thoreau and T. Roosevelt with Muir from Wikipedia

Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists

in the U. S.
Aldo Leopold (1887 1948)
A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Evolutionary-Ecological Land Ethic

Arose together with the Modern Synthesis and maturing ecological
theory; recognizes the complexity, interconnectedness (including
humans) and dynamism of Nature
Photo from Oregon State University

William Wordsworths (1770-1850)

Daffodils (1804)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company: I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Photo of a field of daffodils in Cornwall, England from Wikipedia

Instrumental Value
Non-material Psycho-spiritual (e.g., biophilia, as contrasted
with biophobia) aesthetic beauty, religious awe,
scientific knowledge, etc.
Material
Goods food, fuel, fiber, medicine, etc.
Services pollination, nutrient cycling,
nitrogen fixation, decomposition, etc.
Information genetic engineering,
applied biology, basic science, etc.

Instrumental Value
Daily et al. (1997, Science) provide this list of
ecosystem goods & services:
Production of ecosystem goods (e.g., seafood, wild game, forage, timber, biomass fuels, natural
fibers, many pharmaceuticals, precursors of industrial products); Purification of air & water;
Mitigation of droughts & floods; Generation & preservation of soils and renewal of their fertility;
Detoxification & decomposition of wastes; Pollination of crops & natural vegetation; Dispersal of
seeds; Cycling & movement of nutrients; Control of the vast majority of potential agricultural pests;
Maintenance of biodiversity; Protection of coastal shores from erosion by waves; Protection from
the suns harmful ultraviolet rays; Partial stabilization of climate; Moderation of weather extremes
and their impacts; Provision of aesthetic beauty and intellectual stimulation that
lift the human spirit

Ecosystem goods & services illustrated with photos of wetland, pollinator & decomposer from Wikipedia

Instrumental Value
Costanza et al. (1997, Nature) provide this list of
ecosystem goods & services:
Gas regulation; Climate regulation; Disturbance regulation; Water regulation; Water supply;
Erosion control & sediment retention; Soil formation; Nutrient cycling; Waste treatment;
Pollination; Biological control; Refugia; Food production; Raw materials;
Genetic resources; Recreation; Cultural

Ecosystem goods & services illustrated with photos of wetland, pollinator & decomposer from Wikipedia

Monetizing Instrumental Value of Nature

Costanza et al. (1997, Nature) provide this estimate for the value of these
ecosystem goods & services:
~ $33,000,000,000,000 / yr
[and the gross world product (the sum of all nations gross national products)
is ~ $18,000,000,000,000 / yr]

Ecosystem goods & services illustrated with photos of wetland, pollinator & decomposer from Wikipedia

Monetizing Instrumental Value of Nature

Balmford et al. (2002) refined the estimate of
Costanza et al. (1997) and concluded:
We estimate that the overall benefit:cost ratio of an effective
global program for the conservation of wild nature is at least 100:1

Ecosystem goods & services illustrated with photos of wetland, pollinator & decomposer from Wikipedia

Monetizing Instrumental Value of Nature

. Generally Ignores Intrinsic Value
Immanuel Kant
(1724 1804)
German philosopher among the most influential
thinkers of the Enlightenment
Everything has either a price or a
dignity [intrinsic value]. Whatever
has a price can be replaced by
something else as its equivalent; on
the other hand, whatever is above all
price, and therefore admits of no
equivalent, has a dignity

Image from Wikipedia; quote from Kant (1785) Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

Religion-Based Conservation Ethics

Judeo-Christian Worldview

God apparently conferred intrinsic value on every

living creature by pronouncing Creation to be
good (see Judeo-Christian Bible: Genesis)

Images from Wikipedia

Religion-Based Conservation Ethics

Islamic Worldview

The Koran teaches that Allah (God) calls for mans stewardship
to provide a just distribution of natural resources across generations

Images from Wikipedia

Religion-Based Conservation Ethics

Hindu Worldview

All beings are a manifestation of the one essential Being (Brahman),

so human beings are to identify with & respect other forms of life

Images from Wikipedia

Religion-Based Conservation Ethics

Jaina Worldview

Parallel paths of asceticism (eschewing physical pleasure) and

noninjury of all living things (ahimsa) free the soul from
future rebirth in the material realm
Few adherents, but Jainism has great influence, especially in India
Images from Wikipedia

Religion-Based Conservation Ethics

Buddhist Worldview

Regards other organisms as companions on the path to enlightenment

(nirvana), through an explicit ethic of non-injury of and
boundless loving-kindness for all beings

Images from Wikipedia

Religion-Based Conservation Ethics

Buddhist Worldview

14th Dalai Lama

(b. 1935)

Our beautiful world is

facing many crises....
It is not a time to pretend
everythings good

The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism is arguably the foremost

conservationist among the worlds religious leaders
Photo from Wikipedia

Human enterprise created the modern

Biodiversity Crisis and threatens a vast array of
Ecosystem Services
Why should we care?
Ehrlich & Wilson (1991, Science) provide their three-point answer

Photo of P. R. Ehrlich from Stanford U.; photo of E. O. Wilson from Wikipedia

Human enterprise created the modern

Biodiversity Crisis and threatens a vast array of
Ecosystem Services
Why should we care?
Ehrlich & Wilson (1991, Science) provide their three-point answer

1. Ethical & esthetic reasons (instrumental & intrinsic value)

E.g., would you rather live in a world with or without
grizzly bears, orchids, and dragonflies?
E.g., do we humans have the right to drive species to extinction?
E.g., do we humans have the right to leave the world in worse shape
for our children and grandchildren than it was in when we were born?

Human enterprise created the modern

Biodiversity Crisis and threatens a vast array of
Ecosystem Services
Why should we care?
Ehrlich & Wilson (1991, Science) provide their three-point answer

2. Potential for new discoveries (instrumental value)

in food science, the pharmaceutical industry,
and manufacturing owing to the vast riches
of genetic biodiversity
3. The economic value of ecosystem services (instrumental value)
(see Costanza et al. [1997] & Balmford et al. [2002])

Valuing nature and assessing

the reliability of sources
[please view for next time]
Mountaintop Mining
Stephen Colbert interview with Margaret Palmer
January 18, 2010
http://www.colbertnation.com/ coal-comfort-margaret-palmer