Biodiversity provides important environmental services at global, regional, and local levels. It is essential for ecological processes like nutrient fixation, soil formation, air and water circulation, and maintaining water balances and flows. Biodiversity has consumptive use value as local people collect food, fodder, fuel wood and other materials from forests for subsistence. It also has productive use value as these forest products are sold in markets. Additionally, biodiversity has social, ethical, aesthetic, and option values for societies and future generations.

1. VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY
BY
SAISH TORGAL
AND
SUSHIL PAL

2. DEFINITION OF BIODIVERSITY
• Biodiversity is that part of nature which includes the
differences in genes among the individual of a species the
variety and richness of all the plant and animals species at
different scales in space-locally, in a region, in the country and
the world ; and the types of ecosystems, both terrestrial and
aquatic, within a define area.

3. VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY
• Biodiversity provides a variety of
environmental services from its species and
ecosystems that are essential at the global,
regional and local levels
• The production of oxygen, reduction of carbon
dioxide, maintaining the water cycle, and
protecting soil are some important services.

4. •Biological diversity is also essential for preserving
ecological process, such as fixing and recycling of
nutrients, soil formation, circulation and cleansing
of air and water, global life support ,maintaining
the water balance within ecosystems and water
shed protection, maintaining stream and river
flows throughout the year, erosion control and
local flood reduction.

5. CONSUMPTIVE USE VALUE
• Local people collect materials from forest and
use them in their daily lives, for their
subsistence.
• The various products collected are:
• Food like roots, fruits, tubers, fish,
mushrooms, animal meat, etc.
• Fodder for cattle .
• Fuel wood for cooking.

7. PRODUCTIVE USE VALUE
• Products collected from forest are sold in the
market for economic returns.
• Important products are
• Non-timber forest produces like fuel wood,
fruits, fiber, honey, gum, etc.
• Timber for construction and industrial uses
cane and bamboo products.+

9. SOCIAL VALUES
Apart from local use or sale of
products of biodiversity, there is
also the social aspect in which
more & more resources are used
by societies.

10. ETHICAL AND MORAL VALUES
• Ethical values related to biodiversity
conservation are based on the importance of
protecting all forms of life.
• Most religious and secular creeds believe that
all forms of life have the right to exist on
earth.

12. AESTHETIC VALUE
• The appreciation of the presence of
biodiversity for its inherent value and beauty
as well as for the contribution it makes to our
knowledge – our aesthetics, imagination and
creativity – are other reasons to preserve it.
• Quite apart from killing wildlife for food, it is
important has a tourist attraction.

14. OPTION VALUE
• Keeping future possibilities open for their use
is called optional value.
• To improve cultivars & domestic livestock, we
need to return to wild relatives of crop plants
& animals.