The basic unit of nature - the ecosystem - is a special form of wealth, which we can think of as a stock of natural capital. However, perhaps because this capital is free, we have tended to view it as limitless, abundant and always available for our use, exploitation and conversion. Capitalizing on Nature shows how modeling ecosystems as natural capital can help us to analyze the economic behavior that has led to the overuse of so much ecological wealth. It explains how this concept of ecosystem as natural capital sheds light on a number of important issues, including landscape conversion, ecological restoration, ecosystem resilience and collapse, spatial benefits and payments for ecosystem services. The book concludes by focusing on major policy challenges that need to be overcome in order to avert the worsening problem of ecological scarcity and how we can fund novel financing mechanisms for global conservation.

In the Summer of 1991, Bob Carling, who was then Life Sciences Editor of Chapman & Hall, approached me over the possibility of producing an edited volume of works on economics and ecology. As we discussed the matter further, what became clear is that there is a growing literature on the' frontiers' of both disciplines that has involved economists 'borrowing' from ecology and ecologists 'borrowing' from economics. We decided that this volume should try to provide a small cross-section of that literature. I was very much interested in editing this volume for several reasons. First, one of my principal interests in economics has been how the economic analysis of natural resource and environmental problems can benefit from the concepts and lessons learned from other disciplines, in particular ecology. I was grateful at having the opportunity to pull together a selection of readings that illustrate how the integration of the two disciplines can lead to fruitful analysis. Second, I was also aware that, as Director of the London Environmental Economics Centre and as a Senior Researcher at the International Institute of Environment and Development, I was fortunate to have worked with or to have known a number of economists and ecologists whose work would be ideal for this volume. I was delighted that so many of my friends and colleagues were as enthusiastic about this project as I, and agreed to participate.

Global warming is an increasing problem, tropical forests are being wiped out and major upper watersheds are being degraded. Using insights provided by environmentalism, ecology and thermo-dynamics, this book - first published in 1989 - outlines an economic approach to the use of natural resources and particularly to the problem of environmental degradation. Edward Barbier reviews and critiques the long past of environmental and resource economics and then goes on to elaborate an economics which allows us to develop alternative strategies for dealing with the problems faced. With examples drawn from Latin America and Indonesia, he not only develops a major theoretical advance but shows how it can be applied. Barbier's work is an important and relevant contribution to the discussion surrounding the economics of environmental sustainability.

?The Green Revolution? of the 60s and 70s produced immense gains in food cereal production in the Third World. But there are huge problems in the ?post-revolutionary? era: farmers with small or marginal holdings have benefited less than wealthier farmers; intensive mono-cropping has made production more susceptible to environmental stresses and shocks. Now there is evidence of diminishing returns from intensive and intensively chemical agricultural production. What is needed is a new approach, equally revolutionary, but different in its ideas and style. The authors set out what they mean by ?sustainable? agriculture in the new era and look at the effects of international economic restraints and of national policies on the kind of development they see as necessary. They chart a path for sustainable livelihoods for Third World farmers enmeshed by forces outside their control. They describe methods of evaluating and resolving the tough trade-offs all levels of intervention, from international trade down to the individual farm. This book cannot provide all the answers, but it does indicate what international conditions we need to be aware of, what national policies we need to advocate and what approaches at the local level we need to adopt to ensure the goal of agricultural sustainability. Originally published in 1990

Ivory is big business, and in some parts of Africa elephants have been hunted almost to extinction in the quest for it. The losses to African economies have been catastrophic. Now there is an international ban on the trade and conservation is. the principal goal. This should be a matter for rejoicing, but nothing is quite so simple. The authors of this book have looked at the overall statistics, including those for countries where the elephant population is stable. They have considered the multiplicity of economic and social functions fulfilled by ensuring that elephant herds survive, tourism, a variety of ecological purpose. and, finally, as a source of ivory. They show how the careful management of elephants as a resource can best serve African interests. This book is at the cutting edge of economic thinking and provides a model for the consideration of the difficult relationship between people and wildlife. Originally published in 19990

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is one of the most useful tools of applied economics for the social appraisal of public projects and government policies. Nick Hanley and Edward Barbier show how CBA can be applied to environmental policy choice and environmental resource management. They cover the conceptual underpinnings of CBA, practical methods for applying CBA, and a wide range of case study applications from Europe, North America and developing countries. Issues such as the value of ecosystem services and the special problems posed for CBA by environmental management are brought into close focus. The textbook is aimed at students on inter-disciplinary courses as well as those studying environmental economics, welfare economics and public policy. It will also be of interest to people in the policy community, NGOs and consultancy sectors.

This is the first book that employs economics to develop and apply an analytical framework for assessing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors explore the historical context for the underlying sustainability concept, develop an economics-based analytical framework for assessing progress towards the SDGs, and discuss the implications for sustainability policy and future research. Economics is concerned with analysing the trade-offs in allocating scarce means to achieve various ends. Thus, economic methods are ideally suited to assessing how progress towards one or more SDGs may come at the expense of achieving other goals. Such interactions are inevitable in meeting the 2030 Agenda over the next decade, given that the SDGs include different economic, social, and environmental elements. Although it may be possible to make progress across all 17 goals by 2030, it is more likely that improvement toward all goals will be mixed. For example, we may have reduced poverty or hunger over recent years, but the way in which this progress has been achieved - e.g. through economic expansion and industrial growth - may have come at the cost in achieving some environmental or social goals. On the other hand, progress in reducing poverty is likely to go hand-in-hand with other important goals, such as eliminating hunger, improving clean water and sanitation, and ensuring good health and well-being. Assessing these interactions is essential for guiding policy, so that countries and the international community can begin implementing the right set of environmental, social and economic policies to achieve more sustainable and inclusive global development.

Originally published in 1994, The Economics of the Tropical Timber Trade provides a detailed analysis of the economic linkages between the trade and forest degradation. Based on a report prepared for the ITTO, it looks current and future market conditions at the time of publication, and assesses the impacts on current and future market conditions, and assesses the impacts on tropical forests of both the international timber trade and domestic demand. The authors examine the causes of deforestation and compare the environmental impacts of the timber trade with other factors, such as the conversion of the forests to agriculture. Finally, they assess the national and international trade policy options, and discuss the potential role of interventions in the international timber trade in promoting efficient and sustainable use of forest resources. The book will be of interest to those concerned with forest management and policy, trade and environment, and with the economics of conversation and resource use.

Originally published in 1994, Paradise Lost? is the outcome of a unique collaboration between economists and ecologists initiated by the Beijer Institute of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The book examines how the loss of biodiversity is one of the most serious problems the world faces, and suggests that new, interdisciplinary thinking is required to safeguard both us and the biosphere from the effects of species extinction. The book examines how an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the conservation of biodiversity can understand and tackle the issue. It provides an overview of the causes of the problem, and examines previous approaches to dealing with it. The book also addresses how the loss of biodiversity affects natural systems and provides an examination of environmental policy, while discussing how this has been affected by the ecological limits to economic activity. This book will be of interest to both academics and students of environmental sciences, economics and politics.

Originally published in 1994, The Economics of the Tropical Timber Trade provides a detailed analysis of the economic linkages between the trade and forest degradation. Based on a report prepared for the ITTO, it looks current and future market conditions at the time of publication, and assesses the impacts on current and future market conditions, and assesses the impacts on tropical forests of both the international timber trade and domestic demand. The authors examine the causes of deforestation and compare the environmental impacts of the timber trade with other factors, such as the conversion of the forests to agriculture. Finally, they assess the national and international trade policy options, and discuss the potential role of interventions in the international timber trade in promoting efficient and sustainable use of forest resources. The book will be of interest to those concerned with forest management and policy, trade and environment, and with the economics of conversation and resource use.

Global warming is an increasing problem, tropical forests are being wiped out and major upper watersheds are being degraded. Using insights provided by environmentalism, ecology and thermo-dynamics, this book - first published in 1989 - outlines an economic approach to the use of natural resources and particularly to the problem of environmental degradation. Edward Barbier reviews and critiques the long past of environmental and resource economics and then goes on to elaborate an economics which allows us to develop alternative strategies for dealing with the problems faced. With examples drawn from Latin America and Indonesia, he not only develops a major theoretical advance but shows how it can be applied. Barbier's work is an important and relevant contribution to the discussion surrounding the economics of environmental sustainability.

'The Green Revolution' of the 60's and 70's produced immense gains in food cereal production in the Third World. But there are huge problems in the 'post-revolutionary' era: farmers with small or marginal holdings have benefited less than wealthier farmers; intensive mono-cropping has made production more susceptible to environmental stresses and shocks. Now there is evidence of diminishing returns from intensive and intensively chemical agricultural production. What is needed is a new approach, equally revolutionary, but different in its ideas and style. The authors set out what they mean by 'sustainable' agriculture in the new era and look at the effects of international economic restraints and of national policies on the kind of development they see as necessary. They chart a path for sustainable livelihoods for Third World farmers enmeshed by forces outside their control. They describe methods of evaluating and resolving the tough trade-offs all levels of intervention, from international trade down to the individual farm. This book cannot provide all the answers, but it does indicate what international conditions we need to be aware of, what national policies we need to advocate and what approaches at the local level we need to adopt to ensure the goal of agricultural sustainability. Originally published in 1990

Ivory is big business, and in some parts of Africa elephants have been hunted almost to extinction in the quest for it. The losses to African economies have been catastrophic. Now there is an international ban on the trade and conservation is. the principal goal. This should be a matter for rejoicing, but nothing is quite so simple. The authors of this book have looked at the overall statistics, including those for countries where the elephant population is stable. They have considered the multiplicity of economic and social functions fulfilled by ensuring that elephant herds survive, tourism, a variety of ecological purpose. and, finally, as a source of ivory. They show how the careful management of elephants as a resource can best serve African interests. This book is at the cutting edge of economic thinking and provides a model for the consideration of the difficult relationship between people and wildlife. Originally published in 19990

Published in 1989, Blueprint for a Green Economy presented, for the first time, practical policy measures for 'greening' modern economies and putting them on a path to sustainable development. This new book, written by two of the Blueprint for a Green Economy authors, revisits and updates its main messages by asking, first, what has been achieved in the past twenty years, and second, what more needs to be done to generate a truly 'green economy' in the twenty-first century? Blueprint for a Green Economy had one over-arching theme. Making economies more sustainable requires urgent progress in three key policy areas: valuing the environment, accounting for the environment and incentives for environmental improvement. Today, with the threat of global warming, the decline in major ecosystems and their services, and fears over energy security, achieving these goals is even more vital. The current book first summarizes the main messages from Blueprint for a Green Economy and explains why, given rapid and widespread global environmental degradation, they are still relevant. The book then examines the progress since Blueprint for a Green Economy in implementing policies and other measures to improve environmental valuation, accounting and incentives. Although much has been accomplished, additional advances are still required to green economies successfully. The book highlights the new policies and approaches needed for economic management of today's environmental concerns. Over twenty years later, A New Blueprint for a Green Economy once again emphasizes practical policies for greening modern economies, and explains why such an economic roadmap to a greener future is essential, if modern economies are to develop successfully and sustainably.

Originally published in 1994, Paradise Lost? is the outcome of a unique collaboration between economists and ecologists initiated by the Beijer Institute of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The book examines how the loss of biodiversity is one of the most serious problems the world faces, and suggests that new, interdisciplinary thinking is required to safeguard both us and the biosphere from the effects of species extinction. The book examines how an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the conservation of biodiversity can understand and tackle the issue. It provides an overview of the causes of the problem, and examines previous approaches to dealing with it. The book also addresses how the loss of biodiversity affects natural systems and provides an examination of environmental policy, while discussing how this has been affected by the ecological limits to economic activity. This book will be of interest to both academics and students of environmental sciences, economics and politics.

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is one of the most useful tools of applied economics for the social appraisal of public projects and government policies. Nick Hanley and Edward Barbier show how CBA can be applied to environmental policy choice and environmental resource management. They cover the conceptual underpinnings of CBA, practical methods for applying CBA, and a wide range of case study applications from Europe, North America and developing countries. Issues such as the value of ecosystem services and the special problems posed for CBA by environmental management are brought into close focus. The textbook is aimed at students on inter-disciplinary courses as well as those studying environmental economics, welfare economics and public policy. It will also be of interest to people in the policy community, NGOs and consultancy sectors.

In many tropical countries, mangrove forests are a crucial component of coastal resources. Nowhere is this more evident than in Thailand where their continued destruction due to shrimp farm expansion is impacting upon forestry, fisheries and the quality of the coastal environment. In addition to the environmental damage caused, mangrove loss is also a serious social problem. Many people live and work among the mangrove forests and the destruction of the resources and ecological functions these forests provide affect the economic livelihoods and cultural heritage of many communities. Against these losses must be weighed the considerable commercial and foreign exchange benefits of shrimp aquaculture and production, which is a major export industry in Thailand. Through in-depth case studies of local communities in four distinct coastal areas in Southern Thailand, the authors are able to assess objectively the underlying economic causes, and consequences, of mangrove deforestation due to the expansion of shrimp farms. Economists, ecologists, sociologists and coastal management specialists will all welcome this unique inter-disciplinary appraisal of the ecological, economic and social implications of shrimp farm expansion and mangrove conversion. It will also be of particular value to international and national policymakers concerned with coastal management in tropical countries.

Ten years ago Blueprint for a Green Economy changed the face of economic and environmental policy. It made front page news and introduced the public as well as the professionals to the central role that the environment should play in economic and public policy decisions.Ten years on, David Pearce and Edward Barbier have written the sequel to show what has been achieved, how to consolidate that and what remains to be done. In the clear language which made the earlier book so accessible and influential, they examine the efforts to define and implement the concept of sustainable economic development, its relationship to the use of 'natural' capital and human welfare, and its influence on recent environmental policy debates. They show how far environmental concerns have been integrated into everyday economic decision making--through the valuation of environmental goods and services, cost-benefit techniques, indicators for sustainable development, and the use of market-based instruments for environmental policy making around the world.Yet large, new challenges exist. Global environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and trade-environment linkages require greater cooperation towards new international agreements, institutions and distributive measures. The complex problems facing many poor economies such as deforestation, land degradation, overpopulation and resource exhaustion will demand the increasing use of environmental economics in development policy making. In all these areas, the authors demonstrate how sustainability can be brought from the periphery to the center of economic management.The book provides a blueprint for the start of a century in which our ultimatedependence on the environment will have to be at the heart of the business and policy decisions we take if we are to achieve genuinely sustainable development for economies all around the globe.

Meeting the short run challenges of reviving the worldwide economy need not mean sacrificing long run economic and environmental sustainability. A Global Green New Deal (GGND) is an economic policy strategy for ensuring a more economically and environmentally sustainable world economic recovery. Reviving growth and creating jobs should be essential objectives. But policies should also aim to reduce carbon dependency, protect ecosystems and water resources, and alleviate poverty. Otherwise, economic recovery today will do little to avoid future economic and environmental crises. Part One argues why a GGND strategy is essential to the sustainability of the global economy. Part Two provides an overview of the key national policies whilst Part Three focuses on the global actions necessary to allow national policies to work. Part Four summarizes the main recommendations for national and international action, and discusses the wider implications for restructuring the world economy towards "greener" development.

Throughout much of history, a critical driving force behind global economic development has been the response of society to the scarcity of key natural resources. Increasing scarcity raises the cost of exploiting existing natural resources and creates incentives in all economies to innovate and conserve more of these resources. However, economies have also responded to increasing scarcity by obtaining and developing more of these resources. Since the agricultural transition over 12,000 years ago, this exploitation of new 'frontiers' has often proved to be a pivotal human response to natural resource scarcity. This book provides a fascinating account of the contribution that natural resource exploitation has made to economic development in key eras of world history. This not only fills an important gap in the literature on economic history but also shows how we can draw lessons from these past epochs for attaining sustainable economic development in the world today.

In the Summer of 1991, Bob Carling, who was then Life Sciences Editor of Chapman & Hall, approached me over the possibility of producing an edited volume of works on economics and ecology. As we discussed the matter further, what became clear is that there is a growing literature on the' frontiers' of both disciplines that has involved economists 'borrowing' from ecology and ecologists 'borrowing' from economics. We decided that this volume should try to provide a small cross-section of that literature. I was very much interested in editing this volume for several reasons. First, one of my principal interests in economics has been how the economic analysis of natural resource and environmental problems can benefit from the concepts and lessons learned from other disciplines, in particular ecology. I was grateful at having the opportunity to pull together a selection of readings that illustrate how the integration of the two disciplines can lead to fruitful analysis. Second, I was also aware that, as Director of the London Environmental Economics Centre and as a Senior Researcher at the International Institute of Environment and Development, I was fortunate to have worked with or to have known a number of economists and ecologists whose work would be ideal for this volume. I was delighted that so many of my friends and colleagues were as enthusiastic about this project as I, and agreed to participate.

Published in 1989, Blueprint for a Green Economy presented, for the first time, practical policy measures for 'greening' modern economies and putting them on a path to sustainable development. This new book, written by two of the Blueprint for a Green Economy authors, revisits and updates its main messages by asking, first, what has been achieved in the past twenty years, and second, what more needs to be done to generate a truly 'green economy' in the twenty-first century? Blueprint for a Green Economy had one over-arching theme. Making economies more sustainable requires urgent progress in three key policy areas: valuing the environment, accounting for the environment and incentives for environmental improvement. Today, with the threat of global warming, the decline in major ecosystems and their services, and fears over energy security, achieving these goals is even more vital. The current book first summarizes the main messages from Blueprint for a Green Economy and explains why, given rapid and widespread global environmental degradation, they are still relevant. The book then examines the progress since Blueprint for a Green Economy in implementing policies and other measures to improve environmental valuation, accounting and incentives. Although much has been accomplished, additional advances are still required to green economies successfully. The book highlights the new policies and approaches needed for economic management of today's environmental concerns. Over twenty years later, A New Blueprint for a Green Economy once again emphasizes practical policies for greening modern economies, and explains why such an economic roadmap to a greener future is essential, if modern economies are to develop successfully and sustainably.

This title articulates a valuable new approach to managing marine ecosystems. Conventional management approaches cannot meet the challenges faced by ocean and coastal ecosystems today. Consequently, national and international bodies have called for a shift toward more comprehensive ecosystem-based marine management. Synthesizing a vast amount of current knowledge, "Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans" is a comprehensive guide to utilizing this promising new approach. At its core, ecosystem-based management (EBM) is about acknowledging connections. Instead of focusing on the impacts of single activities on the delivery of individual ecosystem services, EBM focuses on the array of services that we receive from marine systems, the interactive and cumulative effects of multiple human activities on these coupled ecological and social systems, and the importance of working towards common goals across sectors. "Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans" provides a conceptual framework for students and professionals who want to understand and utilize this powerful approach. And it employs case studies that draw on the experiences of EBM practitioners to demonstrate how EBM principles can be applied to real-world problems. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to social and ecological resilience - the extent to which a system can maintain its structure, function, and identity in the face of disturbance. Utilizing the resilience framework, professionals can better predict how systems will respond to a variety of disturbances, as well as to a range of management alternatives. "Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans" presents the latest science of resilience, while it provides tools for the design and implementation of responsive EBM solutions.

This is the first book that employs economics to develop and apply an analytical framework for assessing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors explore the historical context for the underlying sustainability concept, develop an economics-based analytical framework for assessing progress towards the SDGs, and discuss the implications for sustainability policy and future research. Economics is concerned with analysing the trade-offs in allocating scarce means to achieve various ends. Thus, economic methods are ideally suited to assessing how progress towards one or more SDGs may come at the expense of achieving other goals. Such interactions are inevitable in meeting the 2030 Agenda over the next decade, given that the SDGs include different economic, social, and environmental elements. Although it may be possible to make progress across all 17 goals by 2030, it is more likely that improvement toward all goals will be mixed. For example, we may have reduced poverty or hunger over recent years, but the way in which this progress has been achieved - e.g. through economic expansion and industrial growth - may have come at the cost in achieving some environmental or social goals. On the other hand, progress in reducing poverty is likely to go hand-in-hand with other important goals, such as eliminating hunger, improving clean water and sanitation, and ensuring good health and well-being. Assessing these interactions is essential for guiding policy, so that countries and the international community can begin implementing the right set of environmental, social and economic policies to achieve more sustainable and inclusive global development.

Why is natural resource exploitation not yielding greater benefits for the poor economies? In this second edition of his landmark book, Barbier explores this paradox in three parts. Part I gives a historical review of resource use and development, examining current theories that explain the under-performance of today's resource-abundant economies, and proposing a hypothesis of frontier expansion as an alternative explanation. Part II develops models to analyse the key economic factors underlying land expansion and water use in developing countries. Part III explores further the structural pattern of resource dependency, rural poverty and resource degradation within developing countries, and through illustrative country case studies, proposes policy and institutional reforms necessary for successful resource-based development. First published in 2005, each chapter in this new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with new material, tables, figures and supporting empirical evidence. It will appeal to graduate students and scholars researching environmental and developmental economics.