"The international community has committed itself to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, and national levels. Yet, despite growing awareness, and major efforts in all countries, the latest evidence indicates that biodiversity continues to be lost at a terrifying pace, resulting in what some call the greatest mass extinction since dinosaurs roamed the planet, 65 million years ago. A range of methods have been developed to value ecosystems, and the services they provide, as well as the costs of conservation. The methods available are increasingly sensitive, and robust, but they are often incorrectly used. One reason is poor understanding of the purposes of valuation and what questions it can, or cannot, answer. As a result, decision makers may get misleading guidance on the value of ecosystems, and their conservation. In this context, the Bank, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, and the Nature Conservancy have worked together to clarify the aims and uses of economic valuation, focusing on the types of questions that valuation can answer, and the type of valuation that is best suited to each purpose. How Much is an Ecosystem Worth? is the result of that cooperation. It aims to provide guidance on how economic valuation can be used to address specific, policy-relevant questions about nature conservation."

Biodiversity loss is one of the major resource problems facing the world, and the policy options available are restricted by inappropriate economic tools which fail to capture the value of species and their variety. This study describes in non-technical terms how cost-benefit analysis techniques can be applied to species and species loss, and how they provide a measure of the efficiency of conservation measures. Only when conservation can be shown to pass such a basic economic test, the authors claim, will it be incorporated into policies.;David Pearce has also written Blueprint for a Green Economy.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2013 im Fachbereich VWL - Umweltökonomie, , Veranstaltung: Environmental Economics, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Monetary valuation of environmental goods has by now become the subject of numerous economic books and articles. Interest in the topic seems to be increasing in the economics profession, and theoretical insight, methodological improvements and the numbers of empirical findings are expanding rapidly. The aim of such valuation is usually to incorporate environmental concerns into a cost-benefit analysis. Another purpose is to construct environmentally adjusted national income measures Environmental value estimates have also been combined with macroeconomic models, e.g. to estimate welfare effects of a climate treaty Further, estimated willingness to pay is now accepted in the USA as a basis for legal compensation claims for damages to natural resources caused by spill of hazardous substances (Nyborg, 1996) Valuation can simply be defined “as an attempt to put monetary values or to environmental goods and services or natural resources”. It is a key exercise in economic analysis and its results provide important information about values of environmental goods and services. This information can be used to influence decisions about wise use and conservation of forests and other ecosystems. The basic aim of valuation is to determine people’s preferences by gauging how much they are willing to pay (WTP) for given benefits or certain environmental attributes e.g. keep a forest ecosystem intact. In other words, valuation also tries to gauge how much worse off they would consider themselves to be as a result of changes in the state of the environment such as degradation of a forest. Economic valuation never refers to a stock, but only the change in a stock. If one speaks of the economic value of biodiversity, then one always means the economic value of a change of biodiversity. It is not a question of determining the ‘true’ value of biodiversity or ecosystems but valuing changes and comparing them with their alternatives, e.g. with a golf course vs without a golf course. Thus it is non-sense to ask “how much are the African National Parks worth?” A plausible question in this case would be: ‘WWF has proposed a new policy to prevent the huge losses of wildlife species from African National Parks. What is the monetary value of the benefits of this policy (i.e., the economic damages avoided)? Economists thus stress that the valuation should focus on changes rather than levels of biodiversity or ecosystem. [...]

Nutrient recycling, habitat for plants and animals, flood control, and water supply are among the many beneficial services provided by aquatic ecosystems. In making decisions about human activities, such as draining a wetland for a housing development, it is essential to consider both the value of the development and the value of the ecosystem services that could be lost. Despite a growing recognition of the importance of ecosystem services, their value is often overlooked in environmental decision-making. This report identifies methods for assigning economic value to ecosystem servicesâ€"even intangible onesâ€"and calls for greater collaboration between ecologists and economists in such efforts.

Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-being, but also seriously undermines the sustainability of the economic system. It is against this background that TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project was set up in 2007 and led by the United Nations Environment Programme to provide a comprehensive global assessment of economic aspects of these issues. This book, written by a team of international experts, represents the scientific state of the art, providing a comprehensive assessment of the fundamental ecological and economic principles of measuring and valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and showing how these can be mainstreamed into public policies. This volume and subsequent TEEB outputs will provide the authoritative knowledge and guidance to drive forward the biodiversity conservation agenda for the next decade.

In this volume of the TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) publication series, the key concepts of the project are applied to local and regional policy and public management. The aim is to show that by taking nature's benefits into account, decision makers can promote local development to ensure human well-being and economic growth and stability, while maintaining environmental sustainability. The book explores the potential for local development provided by an approach based on nature. It offers examples of successful implementation of this approach from across the world, highlighting the importance of local decision making in management and planning. It provides tools and practical guidance for reform, and throughout the volume the economic benefits of environmental consideration at a local level are expounded. This book is intended to offer inspiration and practical suggestions for the improvement and sustainable management of the environment and human well-being. The local aspect of this book complements the focus of the previous three volumes, completing the set to provide a comprehensive approach to simultaneously improving and maintaining economic and environmental stability, as well as human well-being.

In recent years, there has been a marked proliferation in the literature on economic approaches to ecosystem management, which has created a subsequent need for real understanding of the scope and the limits of the economic approaches to ecosystems and

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study is a major international initiative drawing attention to local, national and global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, the benefits of investing in natural capital, and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions. Drawing on a team of more than one hundred authors and reviewers, this book demonstrates the value of ecosystems and biodiversity to the economy, society and individuals. It underlines the urgency of strategic policy making and action at national and international levels, and presents a rich evidence base of policies and instruments in use around the world and a wide range of innovative solutions. It highlights the need for new public policy to reflect the appreciation that public goods and social benefits are often overlooked and that we need a transition to decision making which integrates the many values of nature across policy sectors. It explores the range of instruments to reward those offering ecosystem service benefits, such as water provision and climate regulation. It looks at fiscal and regulatory instruments to reduce the incentives of those running down our natural capital, and at reforming subsidies such that they respond to current and future priorities. The authors also consider two major areas of investment in natural capital - protected areas and investment in restoration. Overall the book underlines the needs and ways to transform our approach to natural capital, and demonstrates how we can practically take into account the value of ecosystems and biodiversity in policy decisions - at national and international levels - to promote the protection of our environment and contribute to a sustainable economy and to the wellbeing of societies.