Put A Dollar Value On Nature

Should We Put A Dollar Value On Nature?

By Judith D. Schwartz - Saturday, Mar. 06, 2010

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Deforestation in the Amazon, Brazil

Marcelo Sayao / EPA / Corbis

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Nature lovers might cringe at the term "ecosystem services" to describe, say, the view of a pristine beach or a stream teeming with trout. But a growing number of experts within the scientific and economic communities say that putting real economic value on components of nature will help protect the environment and promote biodiversity.

Far from cheapening nature, thinking in terms of "natural capital" can offer a way to assess the crucial but unmeasured benefit that humans derive from the nature. Ascertaining that value can then help decision makers bring environmental factors more explicitly into their planning.(See the top 10 green ideas of 2009.)

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