What are some practical reasons for preserving biodiversity?

Answer 1

Biodiversity

1. Self preservation - The term "biodiversity" obviously includes us. We evolved in an environment of huge diversity, and if we diminish that diversity enough, we won't survive as a species either. Also, there are many life-saving drugs which have been found in plants, particularly in the rainforests. Taxol for ovarian cancer is one of them. When rainforest is cleared (without even being studied), native plants are lost forever- and a potential new drug with it.
2. Biodiversity and the general health of the planet are one and the same, and we owe it to our children and grandchildren the chance to live a decent life on a habitable planet. We're only just beginning to understand the interconnectedness of nature, and the loss of one species can directly lead to the extinction of many more, and the loss of whole ecosystems. We are in the midst of a mass extinction, caused by us, which started about 10,000 years ago with the invention of agriculture and the use of fire, but it has greatly accelarated in the last few centuries, and the rate of species loss now is greater than it was 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs disappeared. We have the intelligence to minimise and repair the damage we do to nature , and we have a moral obligation to do it. This is not "our" planet to exploit as we please.
3. It might sound emotional, but every plant and creature on this earth is unique and beautiful, and to lose any one of them forever through our own actions (mostly avoidable) is a terrible shame. Our grandchildren seeing only photos of them is a sad thing to contemplate.