Education: The Value of Biodiversity
It is estimated that there are approximately 12,250,000 species living on Earth. When most people think about biodiversity, plants and vertebrates come quickly to mind. A healthy planet requires a much broader spectrum, with a far greater variety of life.
Directions
You have $3 million to put toward the conservation of species and their habitats. As a point of reference, $9.7 million was spent on the conservation plan for the endangered northern spotted owl. The price of undisturbed rain forest habitat in South America is $35 an acre through the Adopt-an-Acre program sponsored by The Nature Conservancy.
Decide which species will benefit from your investments. List them in order from highest amount to lowest.
Decide how the money will be spent. Will it go to buying up native habitat and turning it into a preserve? Will the remaining individuals be collected from the wild and put in a zoo or botanic garden for captive breeding? Will the money go towards collecting fungal specimens from all around the world to be used in cancer research? Would you start a biodiversity garden project at schools in your community and collect species locally? Do you have other ideas about how the money could be used to preserve biodiversity?
Write a justification for each expense. Why would you spend money on that particular species?
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