i. Narrowly utilitarian arguments :
• Human beings derive direct economic benefits from nature, like food, firewood, fibre, construction material, industrial products (resins, gums, dyes, tannins, etc.) and medicinally important products.
• More than 25 percent of the drugs are derived from plants and about 25000 species of plants are used by native people as traditional medicines.
ii. Broadly utilitarian arguments :
• Biodiversity plays a major role in maintaining and sustaining supply of goods and services from various species as well as ecological systems.
• The different ecological services provided are :
a. Amazon forest is estimated to contribute 20 percent of the total oxygen in the atmosphere on earth.
b. Ecosystem provides pollinators like bees, bumble bees, birds and bats which pollinate plants to form fruits and seeds.
c. Aesthetic pleasures like bird watching, spring flowers in full bloom, walking through the thick forest, waking up to a bulbul's song, etc. are some other benefits of the ecosystem.
