Journal ArticleDOI
The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital
Robert Costanza,Rudolf de Groot,Stephen Farberk,Monica Grasso,Bruce Hannon,Karin E. Limburg,Shahid Naeem,José M. Paruelo,Robert Raskin,Paul Suttonkk,Marjan van den Belt +10 more
TLDR
In this paper, the authors have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations, for the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion (10^(12)) per year, with an average of US $33 trillion per year.Abstract:
The services of ecological systems and the natural capital stocks that produce them are critical to the functioning of the Earth's life-support system. They contribute to human welfare, both directly and indirectly, and therefore represent part of the total economic value of the planet. We have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations. For the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion (10^(12)) per year, with an average of US$33 trillion per year. Because of the nature of the uncertainties, this must be considered a minimum estimate. Global gross national product total is around US$18 trillion per year.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Valuing forest ecosystem services: What we know and what we don't
K. N. Ninan,Makoto Inoue +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the studies that have tried to estimate the value of forest ecosystem services and discuss the shortcomings of existing studies, and suggest that future research should focus on the neglected ecosystem services, "disservices", assessing the role of dynamic factors and environmental catastrophes on the provision of ecosystem services.
Journal ArticleDOI
The shallow or the deep ecological economics movement
TL;DR: The relationship with nature proposed by the ecological economics movement has the potential to be far reaching as mentioned in this paper, and the implications go far beyond pragmatic use of magic numbers to convince politicians and the public that ecology still has something relevant to say in the 21st Century.
Journal ArticleDOI
Effects of land use and land cover change on ecosystem services in the Koshi River Basin, Eastern Nepal
Bhagawat Rimal,Roshan Sharma,Ripu M. Kunwar,Hamidreza Keshtkar,Nigel E. Stork,Sushila Rijal,Syed Ajijur Rahman,Himlal Baral +7 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of land use and land cover and quantified the change in three important ecosystem services (food production, carbon storage, and habitat quality) in the Koshi River Basin, Nepal during 1996-2016 by using freely available data and tools such as, Landsat satellite images and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model.
Journal ArticleDOI
Coastal Management for Sustainable Development: Analysing Environmental and Socio-Economic Changes on the UK Coast
TL;DR: In this paper, the main forces influencing the development of coastal areas and the means available to assess the present use and manage future exploitation of the coastal zone, following the P-S-I-R Framework and an ecosystem function-based valuation methodology.
Journal ArticleDOI
Integrating Ecology and Economics in the Study of Ecosystem Services: Some Lessons Learned
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss both the opportunities for and the challenges associated with integrating economics and ecology in the study of ecosystem services, and suggest an approach for increasing the scope for collaboration among economists and ecologists in normative analysis.
References
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Book
Using surveys to value public goods : the contingent valuation method
TL;DR: Mitchell and Carson as discussed by the authors argue that at this time the contingent valuation (CV) method offers the most promising approach for determining public willingness to pay for many public goods, an approach likely to succeed, if used carefully, where other methods may fail.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nature's services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems.
TL;DR: Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem services, the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications for human society.
Book
For The Common Good: Redirecting The Economy Towards Community, The Environment And A Sustainable Future
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the scale of human activity in the biosphere has grown too large and that change is needed in the approach to economic activity: "correction and expansion a more empirical and historical attitude less pretense on being science and willingness to subordinate the market to purposes that it is not geared to determine."
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Primary production required to sustain global fisheries
Daniel Pauly,Villy Christensen +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the mean of reported annual world fisheries catches for 1988-1991 (94.3 million t) was split into 39 species groups, to which fractional trophic levels, ranging from 1.0 (edible algae) to 4.2 (tunas), were assigned, based on 48 published Trophic models, providing a global coverage of six major aquatic ecosystem types.
Journal ArticleDOI
Natural Capital and Sustainable Development
Robert Costanza,Herman E. Daly +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a minimum necessary condition for sustainability is the maintenance of the total natural capital stock at or above the current level, to be relaxed only when solid evidence can be offered that it is safe to do so.