Ecosystem economics – can we put a price on nature?
Bee pollinating a rape flower. Bees and other insects are essential for pollinating many of our crops so they produce fruits, nuts and seeds.
Nature provides us with clean air, pollinates our crops, and much more. What are these natural services worth? Will calculating their monetary value promote more responsible use of the world's natural resources?
Until recently the hidden natural services supplied by the environment (such as providing clean air and water, or pollinating our crops) have had no market value and have been taken freely.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) project has transformed the way nature is valued, and the costs of its loss. For example, if we didn’t have bees and other pollinating insects to pollinate our crops, the true cost for this service is estimated to be 153 billion Euros every year, representing 9.5% of world agricultural output in 2005.
Tools for calculating some of these natural services are now being developed and are already influencing global environmental policy. What are the strengths of this emerging understanding and what are the risks? To what extent will the new economics of ecosystem services change our attitudes towards sustainable development?
Watch the debate
A panel of leading experts chaired by Tim Radford, former Science Editor of the Guardian, discussed the issues at a live debate at the Natural History Museum on 25 January 2012.
Watch a short video of debate highlights on YouTube, produced by Stakeholder Forum
Watch the video of the whole ecosystem economics debate
The panel
- Professor Sir Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor to Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
- Claire Brown, a Senior Programme Officer for Ecosystem Services and Assessment at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and coordinator of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment.
- Ian Dickie, a Director of the Aldersgate Group and Business Development Director at eftec (Economics for the Environment Consultancy)
- Will Evison, environmental economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and a lead contributor to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Report for Business (TEEB D3)
What do you think?
Thank you to everyone who sent in questions and comments for the panel via our Earth Debates forum and Twitter. You can continue the debate online. Share your thoughts and leave a comment below.
Have your say
We'd like to hear your views. Join in now and show you care about building a future where we can live peacefully and sustainably on this planet.
- Discuss the issues and share your comments in our Earth Debates forum
- Follow @NHM_London on Twitter
