ecological value of nature, but also provide information for market-oriented companies. Practical considerations may speak in favour of choosing economic value
systems, as they are operationalised; but this should not come at the price of the
suppression of ethical value systems, as moral beliefs are an integral part of our way
of life—and preference-based judgements should be in reflective balance with our
other moral beliefs. Preference-based approaches are not wrong, but may obscure the
profoundness of axiological and moral life. While TEV and ESS identify values
people factually hold, environmental ethics reflects upon coherence, appropriateness, rightfulness, and grounding. People who use these TEV and ESS tools may
also realize that these can also hide and conceal deeper philosophical problems if
they are taken as the ultimate ethical wisdom.
Ethical challenges, such as (1) attribution and grounding of evaluations, (2) the
demarcation problem of inherent moral values in nature, (3) problems of distributive
environmental justice, (4) the issue of virtuous attitudes towards nature, and (5) spiritual encounters with/through nature are neither resolved by TEV nor by ESS. For
example, both TEV and ESS abstract away the crucial topic of overcoming anthropocentrism by attributing inherent moral value to non-human beings. Such challenges are topics of environmental ethics. The idea of a uniform—synthesized—
valuation scheme does not require a final and perfect solution of such problems, but
it provides a framework for discourse. Evaluation schemes can either hide or reveal
the underlying ethical problems. Our strategy is to use such schemes to uncover
them. Finally, value systems are adequately designed if they enable well-informed
and consistent evaluations, grounded in reasons.
4.3 Relationship Between Economic Power, Biodiversity
and Threats
The relationship between economic processes and biodiversity includes benefits to
humans via resource use, destruction of ecosystems, biodiversity loss resulting from
resource use, and the impact and likelihood of certain natural disasters as rebound
effects. However, moderate use can also lead to naturally rich patchworks of
habitats, structural diversity, and may stabilize high biodiversity of landscapes
with natural and semi-natural habitats.
Countries are connected by international trade—legal and illegal—across borders, sometimes over long distances. For example, illegal logging of ebony and
rosewood in Madagascar is mainly promoted by the luxury market in Asia. However, a small percentage of timber from Madagascar can also be purchased in other
parts of the world. As a consequence, the pristine forests in Madagascar are declining
in quantity and quality. Many natural products are trafficked as medicine, prestigious
objects, pets, or for other purposes, resulting in the risk of extinction for those
organisms. Moreover, timber production, trade of rhino horns, shark fins or Totoaba
Land Use Change and the Future of Biodiversity
465
systems, as they are operationalised; but this should not come at the price of the
suppression of ethical value systems, as moral beliefs are an integral part of our way
of life—and preference-based judgements should be in reflective balance with our
other moral beliefs. Preference-based approaches are not wrong, but may obscure the
profoundness of axiological and moral life. While TEV and ESS identify values
people factually hold, environmental ethics reflects upon coherence, appropriateness, rightfulness, and grounding. People who use these TEV and ESS tools may
also realize that these can also hide and conceal deeper philosophical problems if
they are taken as the ultimate ethical wisdom.
Ethical challenges, such as (1) attribution and grounding of evaluations, (2) the
demarcation problem of inherent moral values in nature, (3) problems of distributive
environmental justice, (4) the issue of virtuous attitudes towards nature, and (5) spiritual encounters with/through nature are neither resolved by TEV nor by ESS. For
example, both TEV and ESS abstract away the crucial topic of overcoming anthropocentrism by attributing inherent moral value to non-human beings. Such challenges are topics of environmental ethics. The idea of a uniform—synthesized—
valuation scheme does not require a final and perfect solution of such problems, but
it provides a framework for discourse. Evaluation schemes can either hide or reveal
the underlying ethical problems. Our strategy is to use such schemes to uncover
them. Finally, value systems are adequately designed if they enable well-informed
and consistent evaluations, grounded in reasons.
4.3 Relationship Between Economic Power, Biodiversity
and Threats
The relationship between economic processes and biodiversity includes benefits to
humans via resource use, destruction of ecosystems, biodiversity loss resulting from
resource use, and the impact and likelihood of certain natural disasters as rebound
effects. However, moderate use can also lead to naturally rich patchworks of
habitats, structural diversity, and may stabilize high biodiversity of landscapes
with natural and semi-natural habitats.
Countries are connected by international trade—legal and illegal—across borders, sometimes over long distances. For example, illegal logging of ebony and
rosewood in Madagascar is mainly promoted by the luxury market in Asia. However, a small percentage of timber from Madagascar can also be purchased in other
parts of the world. As a consequence, the pristine forests in Madagascar are declining
in quantity and quality. Many natural products are trafficked as medicine, prestigious
objects, pets, or for other purposes, resulting in the risk of extinction for those
organisms. Moreover, timber production, trade of rhino horns, shark fins or Totoaba
Land Use Change and the Future of Biodiversity
465