CORDIS Archive
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Costing the earthThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development brings together the world's richest countries, so naturally takes a keen interest in the health of the world's economy. And this is not necessarily in opposition to its ecological health. A recent set of reference procedures sets out some options for governments in costing policies that affect biodiversity.Biodiversity is an increasingly important part of the scientific agenda, and was recognised as such by governments as far back as the Rio de Janeiro 'Earth Summit' conference of 1992. There, heads of state signed a convention agreeing to "adopt economically and socially sound measures that act as incentives for the sustainable use of components of biological diversity".Fine words, but rain forests everywhere are still disappearing faster than most of us could mow our lawns, and the 'slash and burn' farmer just is not interested. All he wants to do is make sure that his wife and kids can eat, whether his farming techniques are legal or not. And who can blame him? How is he to know that the biodiversity he is destroying may have a higher value in other uses - from providing therapeutic drugs, to recreation, to non-destructive forms of agriculture, to name just a few. Can governments take up the challenge?The challenge, then, is for both national and regional governments to put forward measures that will stop the endangerment of ecosystems and species due to over-exploitation of the natural resources in their domain. This, though, means cost. Nothing comes for nothing, and the potential price of saving a species of plant, animal or ecosystem can run high. But how high, and can it be accurately assessed? And what about the value of saving a species: can that be measured, so as to offset the cost? The OECD believes so. Its Working Group on the Economic Aspects of Biodiversity (WGEAB) has compiled a number of models that can be used to assess the economic impact of biodiversity promotion policies - or the lack of them. Public-private compromiseThese policies can act not only on pockets but on hearts and minds as well. That is to say they can embrace not only financial incentives, but also social and institutional measures such as promoting stakeholder participation, building capacity and simply providing information. As biodiversity is both a public good and a private one, the essential choice to be made is how far to strictly conserve, and how far to permit the sustainable use of threatened resources. On the level of principle, perhaps you think that cost-based, moral or precautionary approaches are the way forward. Alternatively, you may believe that deliberative and inclusionary methods are more appropriate, or that contingent valuation offers more scope. Whichever, you will have to choose a means of testing the validity of transferring benefit functions. It is all there and covered in some depth. Underlying the book is the notion that fuller knowledge of the economic value of biodiversity will lead to better policy decisions. This is not a coffee table book - and it does not claim to be. It is written for policy-makers, and deliberately sets out to give neither conclusions nor recommendations. What it does do is set out various methodological options - not for the policies themselves, but for putting a price on them - that can be adopted.
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