Monetizing Your Consumption

BBC reports on the The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity.

The TEEB report tries to put a value on "ecosystem services" that are provided by nature (for free, if you will) and will have to be replaced as those services are lost. Things such as air and water purification, fisheries, timber, etc. As biodiversity declines and ecosystems are depleted, we have to spend to produce the same services previously provided by nature. Costs could be from reforestation, farming foods once naturally available, or building reservoirs.

The BBC article quotes study leader Pavan Sukhdev as saying "the reality is that at today's rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2-$5 trillion every year." The first phase of the study was completed in May and determined that forest decline could be costing somewhere in the area of 7% of global GDP.

The thinking is that by couching the problem in terms of financial cost, the issues move from an argument about the inherent value of "nature" and towards a practical view of what the real cost is. The financial strains will impact everyone, whether you find fluffy bunnies and towering redwood trees special or not.

See PDF of the interim report here.