Choose the correct statements about the reasons for conserving biodiversity:
A. The ethical argument holds that every species has an intrinsic value, even if it is of no current economic value to us.
B. ‘Bioprospecting’, exploring molecular, genetic and species-level diversity for products of economic importance, is part of the narrowly utilitarian argument.
C. The oxygen that the Amazon forest produces through photosynthesis is an ecosystem service counted under the broadly utilitarian argument.
D. The narrowly utilitarian argument relates to what we owe to the millions of plant, animal and microbe species with whom we share this planet.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A, B and C only
NCERT groups the reasons for conserving biodiversity into three categories. The narrowly utilitarian argument is about the direct economic benefits we take from nature. The broadly utilitarian argument is about the ecosystem services nature provides. The ethical argument is about what we owe to the other species.
A. The ethical argument holds that every species has an intrinsic value, even if it is of no current economic value to us. — True. This is the ethical argument. Every species has a value of its own, whether or not it is useful to us, and we have a moral duty to care for it.
B. ‘Bioprospecting’, exploring molecular, genetic and species-level diversity for products of economic importance, is part of the narrowly utilitarian argument. — True. Bioprospecting looks for products of economic importance, so it is a direct economic benefit. NCERT discusses it under the narrowly utilitarian argument.
C. The oxygen that the Amazon forest produces through photosynthesis is an ecosystem service counted under the broadly utilitarian argument. — True. Oxygen given out by a forest is a service of the ecosystem, not a product we harvest and sell. It is NCERT’s first example of the broadly utilitarian argument.
D. The narrowly utilitarian argument relates to what we owe to the millions of plant, animal and microbe species with whom we share this planet. — False. What we owe to other species is the ethical argument. The narrowly utilitarian argument deals with direct economic benefits such as food, firewood, fibre and medicines.
So A, B and C are correct.
NCERT Extract:
Why Should We Conserve Biodiversity? – “… With increasing resources put into ‘bioprospecting’ (exploring molecular, genetic and species-level diversity for products of economic importance), nations endowed with rich biodiversity can expect to reap enormous benefits. The broadly utilitarian argument says that biodiversity plays a major role in many ecosystem services that nature provides. The fast-dwindling Amazon forest is estimated to produce, through photosynthesis, 20 per cent of the total oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere.”
Why Should We Conserve Biodiversity? – “… The ethical argument for conserving biodiversity relates to what we owe to millions of plant, animal and microbe species with whom we share this planet. Philosophically or spiritually, we need to realise that every species has an intrinsic value, even if it may not be of current or any economic value to us.”