Study "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity"

Nature provides mankind with a range of goods and services which form the basis of human well-being. Intact soils, food, drinking water, fuels, medicines, protection from flooding and soil erosion, climate regulation and carbon storage are all ecosystem services which nature gives us free of charge.

Up to now, conventional economic assessments have taken many of nature's services for granted or disregarded them completely. However, these ecosystem services and biological diversity have a high economic value.

To allow a better assessment of the economic value of nature's services, identify the economic impacts of damage to ecosystems, and thus put a figure on the costs of inaction, Germany joined with the EU Commission to initiate the study The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) during its 2007 G8 Presidency. The study is being carried out under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Indian economist Pavan Sukhdev leads the TEEB study.

First findings

The first interim report of the study was presented at the 9th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn in May 2008. At that point it was already becoming clear that ecosystem services have a much higher economic value for human society than economists and scientists had previously assumed.

For instance, around 100,000 protected areas on Earth provide mankind with ecosystem services valued at between 4.4 and 5.2 billion US dollars per year. This exceeds the combined turnover of the global automotive industry, the steel industry and the IT services sector. Acccording to experts, the investments necessary to conserve the services of nature - valued at 5,000 billion US dollars per year - in an "ideal" global network of protected areas (15% of terrestrial and 30% of marine area), add up to around 45 billion US dollars a year. This is equivalent to a very good cost-benefit ratio of 1:100

Second phase

During the second phase of the TEEB study, four separate reports relating to specific target groups are being compiled and will be published one after another. The first one was the TEEB for Policy Makers on 13 November 2009, followed by the TEEB for Business in July 2010. The TEEB reports for local and regional administrators and for citizens will follow by fall 2010. These products aim to assist the groups concerned to make decisions on the protection of biodiversity within their field of competence. In addition, a range of cost-effective options for conserving biodiversity and ecosystems will be proposed.

The presentation of the final report is planned to take place at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Japan in October 2010.

TEEB Climate Issues Update

On 2 September 2009 the TEEB Climate Issues Update was presented at the Federal Press Conference in Berlin. This report focused on climate-relevant economic aspects of biodiversity, and especially served to support the dialogue in the run-up to the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

TEEB for Policy Makers

TEEB for Policy Makers underlines the urgent need to improve knowledge and awareness of the social and economic dimension of the loss of biological diversity. The report aims to assist policy makers in reaching informed decisions on nature conservation and sustainable economic development. A key statement of the report is that investments in the conservation and restoration of ecosystems are a cost-efficient way of increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters, and of improving food security, poverty reduction and economic development. The report also makes clear that conserving ecosystems is nearly always more cost-efficient than having to restore them later. For example, the cultivation and conservation of almost 12,000 hectares of mangroves in Vietnam cost 1.1 million US dollars, but at the same time saved 7.3 million US dollars in maintenance costs for dykes.

Using numerous concrete examples from all over the world, TEEB demonstrates how the value of nature and its services can be incorporated into political decision making. The report provides policy makers with a tool box which must now be used and adapted to specific national needs.

TEEB for Business Report

The TEEB for Business report states that the ongoing loss of biodiversity and its services is also worrying for the business sector, which increasingly realises that Earth's natural resources have real economic value and offer business opportunities and revenues. According to estimates, the loss of biodiversity adds up to several trillion dollars and thus influences markets and consumers more and more. For example, consumers show a growing interest in environmentally friendly products and services including those that conserve biodiversity. 60% of consumers in America and Europe and more than 90% of Brazilian consumers are aware of the problem of biodiversity loss. More than 80% of consumers worldwide do not wish to buy products in future from companies which neglect ecological and social aspects in their corporate policy.

The TEEB report concludes that enterprises can only live up to current market requirements if they integrate a sustainable biodiversity management in their corporate strategy. TEEB suggests that enterprises apply concepts such as No Net Loss, Ecological Neutrality or Net Positive Impact. It also calls for an improved balancing of business impacts both positive and negative, on biodiversity in order to prompt changes in corporate investments and organisation. For this purpose the report recommends that trade associations and balance sheet experts develop new instruments such as common standards and key figures for enterprises.

• Reports on the TEEB Study
• TEEB: Chronology of Press Releases
• www.teebweb.org