Economia del ambiente

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Photos: Cover and title page, all images UNEP/Topham.

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ISBN-13 978-92-79-08960-2 © European Communities, 2008 Reproduction is authorized providedthe source is acknowledged. Printed by Welzel+Hardt, Wesseling, Germany. Cover photos (clockwise from top): Ian McAllister/UNEP/ Topham; Ian Johnson/UNEP/Topham; Alex Wong/UNEP/ Topham; Lim Kien Hock/UNEP/Topham A Banson Production, Cambridge, UK

FOREWORD

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iological diversity represents the natural wealth of the Earth, and provides the basis for life and prosperity for the whole ofmankind. However, biodiversity is currently vanishing at an alarming rate, all over the world. We are, so to speak, erasing nature’s hard drive without even knowing what data it contains. The aim of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its 190 Contracting Parties is to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity by 2010. This is an ambitious goal which can only be achieved through theconcerted efforts and combined strength of all sections of society. We therefore need both national and international alliances between policy makers, science, the public and business. Arising out of a discussion at the meeting of G8+5 environment ministers which took place in Potsdam in May 2007, we decided to launch a joint initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversityand the costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.

The success of this joint initiative was always going to be highly dependent on the quality of the leadership and for this reason we have been particularly pleased that Pavan Sukhdev, a Managing Director in the Global Markets division at Deutsche Bank, and founder-Director of a “green accounting” project for India, has accepted totake on the role of Study Leader. Pavan Sukhdev and his team have had an extremely challenging task to bring together a lot of information in such a short time. Fortunately, they have benefited from the support and contribution of many international organizations as well as prominent experts. The results from Phase I of the initiative we launched in Potsdam a year ago will be presented at thehigh-level segment of CBD COP9. We invite and encourage CBD Member Countries and international organizations to contribute actively to Phase II of this work which will begin immediately after COP9.

Stavros Dimas Commissioner for Environment European Commission

Sigmar Gabriel Federal Environment Minister Germany

Foreword

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P R E FA C E
Pavan Sukhdev, Study Leader

Not all that is veryuseful commands high value (water, for example) and not everything that has a high value is very useful (such as a diamond). This example expresses not one but two major learning challenges that society faces today. Firstly, we are still learning the “nature of value”, as we broaden our concept of “capital” to encompass human capital, social capital and natural capital. By recognizing and by seekingto grow or conserve these other “capitals” we are working our way towards sustainability. Secondly, we are still struggling to find the “value of nature”. Nature is the source of much value to us every day, and yet it mostly bypasses markets, escapes pricing and defies valuation. This lack of valuation is, we are discovering, an underlying cause for the observed degradation of ecosystems and theloss of biodiversity. Our project on “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” is about addressing this second challenge, and making a comprehensive and compelling economic case for conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. A DEFECTIVE ECONOMIC COMPASS? Some readers may be surprised to learn that the example above is as old as economics. It is from Adam Smith’s great classic of 1776. So...