An outstanding reference source to the key topics and debates in this exciting subject. Essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy, environmental science and environmental studies, and conservation management. 'The authors in this excellent Handbook step back toquestion what we mean when we discuss the perils to "biodiversity", andto consider the myriad ways that our values intermingle with both the term and the biological world it represents. By examining the interactions between biodiversity's epistemology, ontology, and biology, they help us understand how and why we might steward the nonhuman world around us.' - David Takacs, University of California Hastings, USA "This book is a good collection of excellent and timely chapters relating to the philosophy of biodiversity. Anyone who has worked in conservation has probably been asked the question "why conserve biodiversity?" and this collection does succeed in furthering the dialogue on this point." - John J. Piccolo, Environmental & Life Sciences, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden