Values are central to conservation decisions, and conservation biology has even been termed a "value-laden" science (Soulé 1985). When we measure biodiversity or set conservation priorities, we must decide which species, populations, or ecosystems to study, monitor, manage, or conserve, and these choices depend upon what we currently value.

There are no correct answers to these questions -- the responses depend upon what the decision-makers value and what information is available to make these decisions. Values are also the basis of arguments used to justify the conservation of species or ecosystems, for example is a particular area valuable for recreation, logging, or fishing. (For a detailed discussion of conservation priority setting please see the various Modules on Conservation Planning.)

In most countries, conservation efforts focus on the species listed as endangered and threatened, although to date, these lists include mainly vertebrates and vascular plants. Since we know so little about other components of biodiversity (invertebrates, non-vascular plants, microbes etc.), our current endangered species lists may be omitting information critical to better decision-making about our imperiled species. Also, people are often biased towards "charismatic" species, such as lions and tigers. A poll in the United States (Czech and Krausman 1997) determined that the public values plants, birds, and mammals higher than all other groups (fish, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and microorganisms). They also found that the public considered ecological importance and rarity as the key reasons to conserve species. A study by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in the United States recently raised the question of whether there might also be an inadvertent scientific bias toward "cute, unique or spectacular" species.

Ultimately, each of the decisions people make, consciously or not, is based on what they, as individuals, value and these are the values that will be learned by their children. As Mark Sagoff (1988) writes, "if individuals in the future have no exposure to anything we consider natural or unspoiled, they will not acquire a taste for such things. What they want will be more or less what we leave to them."

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This work is licensed by Melina Laverty and Eleanor Sterling under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 1.0), and is an Open Educational Resource.

Last edited by Charlet Reedstrom on Jul 20, 2004 7:31 pm -0500.