Biodiversity and Sustainable Development

At face value, the importance of biological diversity to sustainable development is obvious. Beyond the intrinsic value we ascribe to living organisms and assemblages, biodiversity contributes to numerous ecosystem processes that support ecological, economic and social well-being. Biodiversity enhances the ability of ecosystems – including heavily modifi ed ecosystems such as those found in farms, gardens, cities and towns – to cope with climatic and environmental shocks. Biodiversity supports food security by providing raw genetic material for improved crop and livestock varieties. Biodiversity provides opportunities for indigenous and other communities to cultivate market niches based on traditional knowledge and livelihood practices. Indeed, biodiversity and the ecosystem processes in which it is implicated provide a host of services to people that would otherwise require expensive technological and fi nancial inputs. These include the purifi cation of water and air; the provision of food, fi bre, timber and fuel; the mitigation of fl oods, drought, disease; and so on. In more ways than we yet understand, biodiversity is central to the sustainability of human societies and economies