Nature in the Balance

Abstract

The scale of biodiversity destruction around the world is widely acknowledged. But policies to reverse this trend and to protect Earth’s biodiversity and natural capital suffer from serious inadequacies of both analysis and measurement. The challenges begin with the concepts of biodiversity and biodiversity loss, and extend from the underlying science and the foundational economics through to the policy design and evaluation at both the national and international levels. This volume brings together leading authorities on biodiversity to assess the state of play at a time when nature is increasingly in the balance. It covers the slippery concept of “biological diversity”, the underlying ecosystems science, and progress in mapping the spatial location of biodiversity. The use and abuse of key economic tools are considered, including economic valuation techniques and estimates, cost–benefit analysis, and notions of natural capital and green accounting. Chapters address policy design and evaluation, the role of the private sector, payments for ecosystem services, species hoarding and speculation, the international dimensions of biodiversity, and the complex relationship between biodiversity protection and economic growth. In addition to reviewing the main issues, chapters also cover major recent exercises such as the National Ecosystem Assessment in the UK and the TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) report.