Industry, already burdened with environmental regulations, is far from enthusiastic about biodiversity conservation, but it should be. The corporate interests that stand to lose from biodiversity conservation are those that base their profits on unsustainable resource use. But for industries that do seek to manage resources sustainably, biodiversity conservation provides significant opportunities.

One of the industry's greatest need is predictability. Today, a firm might invest substantial sums in a development project, only to find its plans halted when an environmental review turns up an endangered species or rare plant community Biodiversity conservation, in contrast, involves upstream planning that can prevent such financial fiascos. The time and work spent inventorying and protecting species and ecosystems means that the distribution of threatened fauna and flora will be known before the first dollar is invested in a project. Granted, some sites will be closed to development as a result, but certainty about the rest will more than offset those losses.

Moreover, biodiversity conservation provides greater options for industry and development planning. Current regulatory practices come into effect only when a crisis is already at hand -- when a species is on the brink of extinction. No options are left: either the species goes or the development project goes. In contrast, the upstream planning entailed in biodiversity conservation reveals new opportunities for planners and helps them keep potential conflicts from erupting.

Despite these opportunities, industry cannot be expected to support biodiversity conservation until criteria and guidelines are developed that will clarify the actions it must take. Currently, industry is being taken to task for not conserving biodiversity, but it has no widely accepted indicators of biodiversity's status to use in planning.