Kumar, Pushpam

Though various studies and scientific assessments highlight the contribution of the forestry sector in terms of various ecosystem services, not much work has been initiated on the valuation of and the accounting for the ecological functions of forest ecosystems. In this monograph, the missing contributions of forests have been accounted for and monetized for 2002/03 in terms of the following ecological benefits: prevention of soil erosion, augmentation of groundwater, and flood control.

This monograph first describes the popular types of accounting usually followed in case of freshwater resources. Second, it reviews some fo the successful examples of accounting done in select countries from all over the world and focuses on lessons learnt from doing such an exercise in a developing country like India. Third, the change in the quality of water over the period 1993-2003 has been computed for surface water and groundwater. Fourth, the deviation from the national standard (acceptable limit) has been calculated.

The TEEB study is underpinned by an assessment of state-of-the-art science and economics. The goal is to provide the conceptual foundation to link economics and ecology and to posit a paradigm of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services. This aspect of the study tackles the challenges of valuing ecosystem services, as well as issues related to economic discounting. It aims to quantify the costs of inaction and examine the macroeconomic dimension of ecosystem services loss.

The aim of this synthesis is to highlight and illustrate the approach adopted by TEEB: namely to show how economic concepts and tools can help equip society with the means to incorporate the values of nature into decision making at all levels.