This research investigates the economic, industrial, biological, and ethical implications of biodiversity protection. Several approaches to the economic assessment of biodiversity are investigated and compared. Inquiries within specific industrial sectors (agriculture, food, pharmaceuticals) are being designed to assess the attitudes and strategies of concerned companies. The study also covers concrete case studies in some territories of the Walloon Region, in order to assess and compare alternative development schemes in terms of their socio-economic impacts as well as their impacts on biodiversity.