Conserving critical sites for biodiversity provides disproportionate benefits to people
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 16:40 authored by Larsen, FW, Turner, WR, Thomas BrooksThomas BrooksProtecting natural habitats in priority areas is essential to halt the loss of biodiversity. Yet whether these benefits for biodiversity also yield benefits for human well-being remains controversial. Here we assess the potential human well-being benefits of safeguarding a global network of sites identified as top priorities for the conservation of threatened species. Conserving these sites would yield benefits - in terms of a) climate change mitigation through avoidance of CO2 emissions from deforestation; b) freshwater services to downstream human populations; c) retention of option value; and d) benefits to maintenance of human cultural diversity - significantly exceeding those anticipated from randomly selected sites within the same countries and ecoregions. Results suggest that safeguarding sites important for biodiversity conservation provides substantial benefits to human well-being. © 2012 Larsen et al.
History
Publication title
PLoS ONEVolume
7Issue
5Article number
e36971Number
e36971Pagination
1-9ISSN
1932-6203Department/School
School of Geography, Planning and Spatial SciencesPublisher
Public Library of SciencePlace of publication
1160 Battery St, San Francisco, CA 94111, USARights statement
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Repository Status
- Open
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