Once comfortable with the concept, people need to educate others about opportunities to enhance their lives and the lives of others by the improved management of biological resources. In Nevada, some of the greatest threats to native biodiversity are highly competitive exotic plants and animals, fire suppression in certain natural ecosystems, and water diversions for agricultural, industrial, and urban use. These complex problems illustrate the need for people with many different skills and perspectives to work together and create workable, mutual-interest solutions to sustain both the economy and its underlying ecological systems. Summary Biodiversity runs the global life support system on which the entire human enterprise depends. Biodiversity also provides humanity with numerous immediately tangible benefits that are little appreciated, many of which have direct economic returns.
People impact biological diversity in many ways.
The current wave of species extinction results almost entirely from human activities. Although progress is being made, the way in which most of our biological resources such as forests, fisheries, or rangelands are being managed is not sustainable. This will have to change if future generations are to have the same opportunities enjoyed by the present generation. Those who claim that there is a choice between the needs of the people and the environment are simply wrong. Human well-being depends on a fully functional environment, and a fully functional environment depends on biological diversity.