Biodiversity, Human Well-Being, and Markets

Biodiversity contributes to human well-being directly through provision of foods, fuels, and fibers, and indirectly through its role in enhancing ecosystem functions that lead to the provision of ecosystem services. Although market forces have often led to the loss of biodiversity, for cases where biodiversity contributes to human well-being, it is possible to design markets to provide incentives to conserve or enhance biodiversity. This article discusses ways in which biodiversity contributes to human well-being and ways in which markets could be used to enhance the maintenance of biodiversity.