Q. Show the Valuation of Biodiversity?

Serious research in this field has only been recently initiated and the methodologies for valuation are still evolving. Important valuation work is being carried out in various pilot projects and monetary values are being given to biodiversity services. Practical tools are needed, however, to bring biodiversity into the economy - especially in the countr ies of South Asia. Part of the problem in valuation of biodiversity is that biodiversity services are often almost invisible and the loss or disruption of services are difficult to identify. Due to the resilience of nature, the loss of production with market implications of a magnitude that will awaken a political response may also become apparent only when the natural system is near total collapse.

A growing literature in applied economics is demonstrating that techniques are available for obtaining concrete estimates of the value of many different facets of the environment. This includes the more intangible (i.e. not directly observed) aspects of environmental quality, such as clean water, clean air and better scenic views. These methods can be applied to biodiversity, but are subject to major limitations and problems of interpretation. One of the major difficulties is that these methods are based on the premise that value is determined by human willingness to pay. The range of human values are very broad and consequently difficult to measure. For example, many people place an ‘existence value' on certain natural resources that they will never personally see or experience.