Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems

M.A. Drupp, M.C. Hänsel, E.P. Fenichel, M. Freeman, C. Gollier, B. Groom, G.M. Heal, P.H. Howard, A. Millner, F.C. Moore, F. Nesje, Martin Quaas, Sjak Smulders, T. Sterner, C. Traeger, F. Venmans

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
41 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Governments are catching up with economic theory and practice by increasingly integrating ecosystem service values into national planning processes, including benefitcost analyses of public policies. Such analyses require information not only about today’s benefits from ecosystem services but also on how benefits change over time. We address a key limitation of existing policy guidance, which assumes that benefits from ecosystem services remain unchanged. We provide a practical rule that is grounded in economic theory and evidence-based as a guideline for how benefits change over time: They rise as societies get richer and even more so when ecosystem services are declining. Our proposal will correct a substantial downward bias in currently used estimates of future ecosystem service values. This will help governments to reflect the importance of ecosystems more accurately in benefit-cost analyses and policy decisions they inform.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1062-1064
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume383
Issue number6687
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2024

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