Sustainable Allocation of Biodiversity to Improve Human Health and Well-Being

Th e concept of sustainable development attempts to reconcile the real confl icts between the economy and the environment, and between present needs and those of the future. Many explanations of sustainable development exist, but generally the term refers to sustaining intact ecosystems with their associated species while developing or improving ways to meet human needs for health, nutrition, and security (Kates, Parris, and Leiserowitz 2005). Th e Brundtland Commission defi ned sustainable development as the ability of humanity to ensure that it meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED 1987). Sustainable development attempts to raise awareness and to create links between human values, responsibilities, and environmental decisions that in many cases have been decoupled. Sustainability strives to create new solutions that are benefi cial for all interests—both humans and the environment. Strategies for sustainable development that conserve biological diversity while also meeting human needs must satisfy multiple, oft en confl icting demands. Ecosystems fulfi ll basic requirements associated with maintaining and improving human health, oft en in the form of ecosystem services harnessed by society. In some instances, there are win-win management opportunities that maximize several ecosystem services. In other cases there are trade-off s among services, some potentially diffi cult to evaluate because of