Nature in the Balance: the Economics of Biodiversity

How much is a Skylark worth? Are ten worth ten times as much? Is this less than ten Grey Partridges, or three bumblebee nests? Then, how does the economic value of a bypass or a housing development compare? Such questions may be anathema to some, but economists run the world and, like it or not, conservationists need to speak their language. Values will be given to nature anyway; conservation and economics must work together to do it properly.

The chapters in this useful book see leading conservation and economic thinkers in this area explore how to define biodiversity for valuation, using objective, scientific principles, and how economic techniques can be applied to the results. This includes the concept of ‘natural capital’ and how best to measure financial values for biodiversity. The book also considers adaptations for local to international scales and discusses practical policy and incentive developments for using valuations.

Book reviewed by Gavin Siriwardena