Abstract

This chapter describes five areas: conservation of biodiversity and evolutionary heritage, recovery of natural capital, enhancement of ecosystem services, a laboratory for testing ecological theories, and reconnection of human culture and nature. Conservation of biological diversity is essential not only to sustain the Earth's evolutionary heritage but also to shape the ecosystems of the future, because new biotas of the future emerge from the evolution of current species. Natural capital is Earth's stock of natural resources that provide a wide array of goods to human societies and economies. Along with the Earth's natural capital, ecosystem services are one way to characterize the rationale for restoration. Ecosystem services refer to the benefits that humans receive from nature. The benefits may include provision of goods from natural capital, regulation of ecosystem processes such as climate control, air and water purification and waste disposal, and enhancement of cultural values such as spiritual refreshment and discovery of new scientific knowledge.

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