Conservation Values & Ethics Photo of Auguste Rodin’s “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 self- serving behavior in deference to some other good

Photo of Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” from Wikipedia; Definition from The American Heritage Dictionary (1973) Value “Worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor”

Map from pubs.usgs.gov; photo of grizzlies from Wikipedia Instrumental Value Value that Nature has as a means to another’s (i.e., mankind’s) end Anthropocentric viewpoint (i.e., from the perspective of Homo sapiens as “possessor”)

Photos from Wikipedia 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 Intrinsic Value

Value Instrumental Intrinsic - Material - Non-material Anthropocentric Biocentric Instrumental & Intrinsic Value

Photo from Wikipedia Coined “conservation ethic” Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Gifford Pinchot (1865 – 1946) First Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (1905 – 1910) Resource Conservation Ethic Utilitarian, anthropocentric “natural resource” philosophy; “the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time”

Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862) Walden (1854) John Muir (1838 – 1914) Founded Sierra Club (1892) Image of Emerson, photos of Thoreau and T. Roosevelt with Muir from Wikipedia Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Romantic-Transcendental Conservation Ethic “Nature has uses other than human economic gain;” biophilia Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) Nature (1836)

Photo from Oregon State University Evolutionary-Ecological Land Ethic Arose together with the Modern Synthesis and maturing ecological theory; recognizes the complexity, interconnectedness (including humans) and dynamism of Nature Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Aldo Leopold (1887 – 1948) A Sand County Almanac (1949)

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. William Wordsworth’s ( ) “Daffodils” (1804) Photo of a field of daffodils in Cornwall, England from Wikipedia

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

Ecosystem goods & services illustrated with photos of wetland, pollinator & “decomposer” from Wikipedia 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 sun’s 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 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] Monetizing Instrumental Value of Nature

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”

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 Monetizing Instrumental Value of Nature …. Generally Ignores Intrinsic Value

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 man’s 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 Few adherents, but Jainism has great influence, especially in India Parallel paths of asceticism (eschewing physical pleasure) and noninjury of all living things (ahimsa) free the soul from future rebirth in the material realm 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 The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism is arguably the foremost conservationist among the world’s religious leaders 14 th Dalai Lama (b. 1935) “Our beautiful world is facing many crises.... It is not a time to pretend everything´s good” Photo from Wikipedia Religion-Based Conservation Ethics

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

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

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

“Mountaintop Mining” Stephen Colbert interview with Margaret Palmer January 18, coal-comfort-margaret-palmer Valuing nature and assessing the reliability of sources [please view for next time]…