Business economics

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Interim Report, a first assessment stemming from a G8+5 initiative sponsored by Germany and the European Commission, points to the growing pressures on biodiversity and ecosystem services across the world and the need for improved valuation metrics for pricing natural resources. The main pressures come from population growth, changing diets, urbanization, climate change and invasive alien species.

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.

The report reflects the progress made by BBP in 2008.

The report reflects the progress made by BBP last year. The stories selected are a balanced representation of BBP's work in 2009 to deliver the IUCN programme for 2009-2012. Intrinsically linked to biodiversity are four of humankind's greatest challenges and the four focus areas of the IUCN programme: climate change, energy, livelihoods and economics. The performance assessment at the end of the report shows progress against the planned annual results.

This study focused specifically on one perceived opportunity for developing IPES, namely the concept of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). REDD refers to any conservation or sustainable land-use initiative that effectively mitigates a real deforestation/degradation threat in a given area.

This report provides a summary for the business community, illustrated with examples from a range of companies and sectors. It asks: what are the risks and opportunities to business of ecological change? What is business currently doing about biodiversity and ecosystem services? What more could business do? and how can the business imperative to deliver profits be better aligned with the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources?

The challenge of building biodiversity business is not trivial. Biodiversity is still largely neglected by private finance. There is a need to develop new business models and market mechanisms for biodiversity conservation, and to persuade the public and policy makers that biodiversity (or component ecosystem services) can be conserved on a commercial basis.

The challenge of building biodiversity business is not trivial. Biodiversity is still largely neglected by private finance. There is a need to develop new business models and market mechanisms for biodiversity conservation, and to persuade the public and policy makers that biodiversity (or component ecosystem services) can be conserved on a commercial basis.