Environmental economics

This TEEB report presents a sub-set of early conclusions which relate to climate change. Although a fuller report on these issues was to be released in late 2009, this shorter version was released in preparation for the climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009, and includes the climate-related conclusions and recommendations generated for policy-makers, negotiators and the general public.

The TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers was released on September 9, 2010, and includes overviews to the various chapters of the full TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers Report.

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 main objective of this work is to provide an introduction and sense of direction (i.e. a “Gateway”) into the complicated world of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). It by no means intends to serve as a comprehensive overview of this vast field. It provides one entry point for engaging in PES, and was designed to fit into the broader Livelihoods and Landscapes (LLS) strategy, as developed by IUCN’s Forest Conservation Programme.

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.

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 main objective of this work is to provide an introduction and sense of direction into the complicated world of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). It by no means intends to serve as a comprehensive overview of this vast field. It provides one entry point for engaging in PES, and was designed to fit into the broader Livelihoods and Landscapes (LLS) strategy, as developed by IUCN’s Forest Conservation Programme.