Ethics of nature and biodiversity

Abstract

In recent years, the loss of biodiversity has become the focus of increasing interest in the bioethical debate on the relationship between man and nature. Human interventions pose a threat to biodiversity in a number of ways. So-called modern civilisations are associated with a continuously growing consumption of raw materials, energy, land and water. In addition to the general environmental pollution caused by modern civilisations, this association applies especially to large-scale land exploitation and to the expansion of industrial production in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fishery.