great and small
need to be preserved
SEVENSEAS - 7
The paper, “The Importance and Benefits of Species,” released in the journal Current Biology, advocates a conservation philosophy that all species are important, no matter their direct use by humans, apparent value, intelligence or attractiveness. The default setting for our relationship to all species on Earth should be “Conservation,” not trying to develop arguments for why a species should be saved through its current perceived usefulness to humans.
The paper was authored by affiliates of the Abu Dhabi-based Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, including several IUCN staff and IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) members, and the authors argue in favour of strong conservation efforts for all species great and small.
While in recent years there has been increasing recognition of the value of ecosystem services in achieving long-term sustainable development and human well-being, the value of individual species in maintaining these critical services has often been undervalued or overlooked entirely.
The potential for advances in antifouling and adhesion technology derived from the study of Blue Mussels may result in massive fuel savings to marine vessels and advances in adhesives with medical applications. Fiddler crabs, common in salt marshes and mangrove forests throughout the world, help mangrove trees grow larger, taller and thicker, which in turn helps sequester more carbon. These are only two of the many examples of unexpected and unanticipated benefits obtained from even the most common species, according to the study.
The authors seek to highlight the fact that species are essential in