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Biodiversity in the Anthropocene: prospects and policy

Nathalie Seddon, Georgina M. Mace, Shahid Naeem, Joseph A. Tobias, Alex L. Pigot, Rachel Cavanagh, David Mouillot, James Vause, Matt Walpole
Published 7 December 2016.DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2094
Nathalie Seddon
Biodiversity Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKEdward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKInternational Institute for Environment and Development, 80–86 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8NH, UK
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  • ORCID record for Nathalie Seddon
  • For correspondence: nathalie.seddon@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Georgina M. Mace
Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, UK
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Shahid Naeem
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Joseph A. Tobias
Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK
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Alex L. Pigot
Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, UKGroningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, Groningen 9700 CC, The Netherlands
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Rachel Cavanagh
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
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David Mouillot
MARBEC, UMR CNRS-UM2 9190, Université Montpellier, Montpellier, FranceAustralian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
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James Vause
UNEP, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK
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Matt Walpole
UNEP, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK
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    • Electronic Supplementary Table S1 - Key future research questions underpinning understanding of the values of biodiversity

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    Figure 1.

    The value of biodiversity to human well-being. Biodiversity is structured by a range of ecological processes including: (i) community assembly (the biotic and abiotic interactions, including environmental filtering, competition and host–parasite interactions, which together determine the distribution of species and their abundance in communities), (ii) interaction networks (the architecture of mutualistic and antagonistic interactions underlying pollination, seed dispersal, predator–prey cycles, etc.), (iii) nutrient transfer (the breakdown of nutrients and transfer across the environment), and (iv) biogeochemical cycling (the cycling of chemicals, e.g. C, N, through the biosphere and lithosphere). These processes—which can be termed ‘biodiversity services’—underpin and determine the stability, resilience, magnitude and efficiency of the functions and properties of ecosystems. Those functions and properties that benefit people are referred to as ‘ecosystem services’ and reflect what it is we tend to value about biodiversity. Values are divided into intrinsic (which by definition cannot be valued economically) and instrumental values (that contribute to human welfare in many and varied direct and indirect ways). When economic valuation is done correctly (i.e. robust assessment and weighting of values), the outcome is green environmental policy (left, green arrow implying positive effects on biodiversity and ecosystems) that leads to environmental conservation, restoration, protection and sustainable practice. When done incorrectly, it can lead to environmental degradation and unsustainable practice (right, red arrow, implying harmful effects on biodiversity and ecosystems). Two elements of this framework are therefore critical; the natural science underpinning biodiversity's influence over ecosystem functions and properties, and the social science underpinning values and valuations. If incomplete, poorly done or ignored, policy is more likely to be red than green.

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14 December 2016
Volume 283, issue 1844
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: 283 (1844)
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Keywords

biodiversity services
conservation
ecosystem
interdisciplinary
sustainable development
values
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Biodiversity in the Anthropocene: prospects and policy
Nathalie Seddon, Georgina M. Mace, Shahid Naeem, Joseph A. Tobias, Alex L. Pigot, Rachel Cavanagh, David Mouillot, James Vause, Matt Walpole
Proc. R. Soc. B 2016 283 20162094; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2094. Published 7 December 2016
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Biodiversity in the Anthropocene: prospects and policy

Nathalie Seddon, Georgina M. Mace, Shahid Naeem, Joseph A. Tobias, Alex L. Pigot, Rachel Cavanagh, David Mouillot, James Vause, Matt Walpole
Proc. R. Soc. B 2016 283 20162094; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2094. Published 7 December 2016

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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • 1. Context
    • 2. Evolving perspectives on valuing biodiversity
    • 3. Recent advances in natural science relevant to biodiversity valuation
    • 4. Linking biodiversity science to value, human well-being and policy
    • 5. Conclusion
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