The second type of value, option value, is placed on the asset by those who want the option of consuming the good (or bad) at some future point in time. Those who are planning trips to the Galapagos, planning research studies on the islands, and those who would simply like to visit someday all have option values for the islands. The final value is much more subjective and difficult to find than use and option values. Existence values exist simply because a person derives benefit from the islands being there as they are. Krutilla mentions "serendipity values," which are forms of existence values that are present because of the intrinsic value of future findings from research. All three types of values must be considered when deriving the benefits of the Galapagos Islands; there is no one that can be overlooked.
While looking at benefits derived from preservation of the islands, one must also examine the costs of that preservation. These can be measured directly in the amount of money necessary to spend in order to maintain a certain level of preservation, but this does not capture the entire cost curve. If money is going to the islands, money is not going to other projects (opportunity costs). If Ecuador were to allocate 5 billion dollars to the preservation of the islands over the next ten years, that money is not being spent on things such as industrialization, providing healthcare for the people, improving the school system, etc. A real-world example deals with the fishing industry around the islands. The Ecuadorian government, fearing a total annihilation of various species of marine life being harvested by fishers, completely banned certain types of fishing. This preserved the islands but, naturally, decimated the fishing industry around the islands. This loss of income to fishers must be considered in the cost/benefit analysis. .
Also a problem arises within nature if one seeks to preserve the islands, as they are.
The diversity of views concerning the relation of science and religion today can be grouped under four basic headings. The first heading is Conflict and includes proponents of a philosophy of materialism, on the one hand, and advocates of biblical literalism or creationism, on the other. The secon...