Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in National and International Policy Making

This volume is an output of TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity study and has been edited by Patrick ten Brink, Senior Fellow at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and head of the Brussels office. TEEB is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and supported by the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), recently joined by Norway's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands' Ministry of Housing (VROM), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and also the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The study leader is Pavan Sukhdev, who is also Special Adviser - Green Economy Initiative, UNEP.

• List of Figures, Tables and Boxes.  List of Contributors.  Acknowledgements.  Preface.  List of Acronyms and Abbreviations.  Introduction  1. The Global Biodiversity Crisis and Related Policy Challenge  2. Framework and Guiding Principles for the Policy Response  3. Strengthening Indicators and Accounting Systems for Natural Capital  4. Recognising the Value of Biodiversity: New Approaches to Policy Assessment  5. Rewarding Benefits through Payments and Markets  6. Reforming Subsidies  7. Addressing Losses through Regulation and Pricing  8. Recognising the Value of Protected Areas  9. Investing in Ecological Infrastructure  10. Transforming our Approach to Natural Capital: The Way Forward.  Index

"This work is a landmark. It shows not only that we have been extraordinarily wasteful, destructive and inefficient in our treatment of the natural environment but also how careful analysis and measurement can help us change our ways towards a more productive and responsible relationship with our environment. It provides a fundamental contribution which shows how careful attention to ecosystems and biodiversity can help guide our response to the two defining challenges of our century: managing climate change and overcoming poverty." Professor Nicholas Stern, London School of Economics. "The [TEEB] project should show us all how expensive the global destruction of the natural world has become and - it is hoped - persuade us to slow down." The Guardian. "A very important and timely book, and an invaluable resource for assisting countries in implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, adopted by consensus at the 2010 world biodiversity summit in Japan." Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) has been crucial in developing the way we think about biodiversity. It is important that policy makers are not only concerned with protecting vulnerable species, but that they recognise the value of nature, and its contribution to our general wellbeing and economy. We need to understand the true cost of losing what nature gives us for free, and integrate this into our decision making across government, business and society. At the national and international level TEEB for Policy Makers helps us think about how this can be done." Caroline Spelman, MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom (UK). "The TEEB approach in researching the formerly ignored contributions to economies around the world provided by ecosystems and biodiversity is the most ground-breaking work in the economics profession ... TEEB , together with similar research can move the world beyond economics and GDP toward more sustainable and equitable measures of genuine human development." Hazel Henderson, President of Ethical Markets Media (USA and Brazil).