title: Economic reasons for conserving wild nature.
abstract: On the eve of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, it is timely to assess progress over the 10 years since its predecessor in Rio de Janeiro. Loss and degradation of remaining natural habitats has continued largely unabated. However, evidence has been accumulating that such systems generate marked economic benefits, which the available data suggest exceed those obtained from continued habitat conversion. We estimate that the overall benefit:cost ratio of an effective global program for the conservation of remaining wild nature is at least 100:1.
authors.affiliation: Conservation Biology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. a.balmford@zoo.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balmford
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bruner
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Costanza
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farber
authors.forename: Rhys E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jefferiss
authors.forename: Valma
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jessamy
authors.forename: Joah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Madden
authors.forename: Kat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Munro
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Shahid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naeem
authors.forename: Jouni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paavola
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rayment
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosendo
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roughgarden
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Trumper
authors.forename: R Kerry
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D017756:Aquaculture; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D016468:Forestry; D006801:Humans; D017149:Private Sector; D014197:Trees