Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

* Report: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. United Nations Environment Programme, 2011.

Assigning value to the environment's eco-services?

Discussion

By Vasanthi Hariprakash:

"here is a concept that is gaining currency among governments. Called ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ (TEEB). It is a study commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), based on the principle that ‘Natural resources are economic assets, whether or not they enter the marketplace.’ The 500-plus TEEB team that has economists, ecologists and researchers, has been on the project that puts a money-value to the ‘services’ that forests and ecosystems offer us, if we had to pay for them everytime we use them.

While an agency as credible as TEEB has put out the actual price of resources considered invaluable, there is no market or ‘buyer’ who can pay for these services. The countries and governments who mostly ‘own’ these forests therefore have no ‘profit’ to show against their forest cover on their balancesheet. Which is why, most often, they have no incentive to let forests stay as forests.

On the other hand, changing the land use pattern, that is converting forest land into, say, agriculture land or real estate, gives them far more tangible wealth. And therein lies the story of why across the world, forests have been simply disappearing." (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/166966/treating-forests-economic-assets-tangible.html)