Biodiversity underpins human well-being in many ways. We depend on the environment to supply clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, to produce and maintain fertile soils and to break down our wastes. Biological resources provide all of our foods, many of our medicines and many of our industrial products. Moreover, they provide us with recreation, inspiration and a cultural identity.

Our biological resources also create economic opportunities, and therefore create jobs. For example, tourism, of which eco-tourism is a growing component, earns around $8 billion (and 140,000 jobs) for Victoria and is growing. Tourists coming to Victoria want to see our parks, our landscape and waterways, and our remarkable flora and fauna. For example, penguin, seal and whale watching attracts tourists from many parts of the world, and it is estimated that the Grampians National Park contributes more than $200 million a year to the Victorian economy. Moreover, in future, we can expect people to value the environment at least as highly as at present. Maintaining our biodiversity keeps tourism, recreation and related options open for the future.⁶

Our biological diversity is also a source of pleasure.

Many Victorians simply wish to know such diversity exists and that it is protected. For others, our biodiversity offers more direct enjoyment. Bird-watching in the Mallee, snorkelling over sheltered reefs, walking in the ancient rainforests of East Gippsland, and recreation in national parks and state forests throughout Victoria are everyday examples of biodiversity enriching our lives.

In addition, many of our natural resources spring from biodiversity. For example, our forests generate about $3000 million in commercial turnover each year.

Our seas and rivers support substantial recreational and commercial fisheries, with Victoria’s commercial fisheries (including aquaculture) worth around $100 million per year. Agriculture too depends on biodiversity – for watershed protection, climate regulation, soil fertility, nutrient storage and cycling, and so on. Without it, this $5000 million per year sector would be threatened.

Beyond all this, the environment is something more than a commodity for our benefit. We share the Earth with many other life-forms that have their own intrinsic value. They warrant our respect, whether or not they are of immediate benefit to us.