There are many other costs associated with the loss of biodiversity, and other values associated with its preservation. Researchers are finding that protection of ecosystems rich in biodiversity can strengthen and diversify regional economies. For example, the estimated economic value of intact natural forests for recreation, production of fish and wildlife, and other benefits, is one-third to three times as much as their value for timber alone, according to the World Resources Institute. These are significant costs and benefits which should be included in any economic analysis of biodiversity conservation. Much of the current controversy stems from private landowners who resent government regulation of their lands.
Government regulation is necessary to protect a critical public resource from private destruction.
However, individual citizens should not bear the full cost of protecting biodiversity, since their actions benefit society at large. Within the context of a strong regulatory framework with defined conservation goals, economic incentives can help defuse political controversy by providing increased flexibility and rewarding private sector conservation efforts. Conservation strategies must be developed that make private landowners willing partners in biodiversity conservation. This is particularly important given that seventy percent of U.S. land outside of Alaska is privately owned. Even more significantly, more than fifty percent of species listed under the Endangered Species Act are found only on private lands, and many more have substantial parts of their remaining range on private property.