I. Introduction.
Conservation biologists study phenomena such as inbreeding depression, habitat fragmentation, demographic stochasticity, and metapopulation structure in order to better understand the nature and rate of anthropogenically caused mass extinctions (see Caughley and Gunn 1996, Meffe, Carroll, et. al. 1997). According to received opinion, these theoretical studies arise out of the inextricably value-laden nature of conservation biology. As philosopher Arne Naess writes,
Insofar as conservation biology is a scientific discipline, it is a crisis science like AIDS and cancer research. That is, it uses certain goals and values as axioms. The intrinsic value of diversity of life forms and the meaningfulness of a struggle to save life forms from extinction are taken for granted. Conservation biology is therefore not purely descriptive; it is "a prescriptive science" (Naess 1990 [1991], 169).
Conservation biologists examine the effects of the above mechanisms amongst many others in order to preserve biodiversity. Likewise, Barry and Oeschlaeger argue, Conservation biology is inescapably normative. Advocacy for the preservation of biodiversity is part of the scientific practice of conservation biology (1996, 905). In this essay, I will explore several issues concerning the value-ladenness of conservation biology and the role of advocacy by biologists. First, I argue, as others have, that conservation biology is value-laden and attempt to clarify what this exactly means. Second, I argue that when the notion of advocacy is suitably construed, conservation biologists should advocate the preservation of biodiversity. Third, I explore what the ethical basis of advocating the preservation of flora and fauna should be in conservation biology. I argue that it is prudent for conservation biologists to defend the preservation of biodiversity on instrumentalist grounds alone if the context of discussion and debate is in scientific journals, conferences, or public policy forums. If biologists argue for the intrinsic value of species and ecosystems, then the arena in which this occurs should be one of an informal nature.
In this essay, I attempt to clarify the controversial normative nature of conservation biology. It will emerge that conservation biologists should be advocates for biodiversity; however, the reasons for and the strictures on such an advocacy are interestingly complex.
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