User:Manxshearwater/economicsofbiodiversity

= Economics of biodiversity = Biodiversity plays an essential role in the global economy. This includes its role in providing ecosystem services - the benefits that humans get from ecosystems. Biodiversity plays a major role in the productivity and functioning of ecosystems, affects their ability to provide ecosystem services. For example, biodiversity is a source of food, medication, and materials used in industry. Recreation and tourism are also examples of human economic activities that rely on these benefits. In 2018, the WWF Living Planet Report estimated that ecosystem services contributed US$125 trillion a year to the global economy.

The benefits of biodiversity are often evaluated in an anthropocentric way and the inherent value of biodiversity, outside of its benefits to humanity, has been debated by economists. Despite these benefits, economic activities often result in harm to biodiversity, such as through deforestation.

Food
Despite this, the global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss.

Soil biodiversity plays an essential role in food production.

Medicine
Biodiversity plays a vital role in the maintenance of human health through the use of plants, animals, and fungi within medicine. This has significant economic implications, including through the sale of naturally-derived medicines in the pharmaceutical industry.

Horticulture
Horticulture refers to the small-scale cultivation of plants, such as for use in gardening or landscaping. These plants may be used for food, medicine, or aesthetic and ornamental purposes. Horticultural plant biodiversity is important to the economy and examples include fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. For example, in the UK, growth of ornamental plants was worth £1.7 billion in 2023.

Recreation and tourism
Through cultural ecosystem services, biodiversity provides economic benefits in the form of recreation and tourism, while also benefitting human wellbeing. Biodiversity influences the potential of ecosystems to provide recreational services. This includes outdoor recreation, such as hiking, hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching.

Another form of recreation supported by biodiversity is tourism. Biodiversity is "at the heart of what drives the tourism industry", according to the United Nations Environment Programme. The beauty of tourist destinations or the species they support can attract tourists to visit certain areas. For example, destinations like rainforests, beaches, national parks, and nature reserves are attractive to tourists. The revenue generated through tourism is vital to many economies worldwide.

Nature-based tourism, such as to visit protected areas, also has an important economic impact. For example, ecotourism, where the motivation of tourists is to observe and appreciate nature and the cultures in natural areas, while supporting their maintenance. In 2023, the global ecotourism market was estimated to be worth US$216.49 billion.

Despite the economic benefits from biodiversity through tourism, the tourism industry has negative impacts on biodiversity. For example, through habitat destruction and pollution. As a result, sustainable tourism emerged with the aim of reducing the negative impacts of tourism on the environment.

Impact of economic activity on biodiversity
Despite the role of biodiversity in underpinning the economy, economic activities often cause harm to biodiversity. For example, through over-exploitation of species, land-use change, and agriculture.