A Handbook for Understanding Natural Capital - Earth Economics

CONCLUSION
Nature fuels the economy, and today we can measure the
services it provides.
As a society, we are currently updating outdated 20th
Century economic models and decision-making tools
that were created in a time when natural resources were
plentiful and built capital scarce. By building models to
capture nature’s significant financial contribution, previous
blind spots can be corrected through ecosystem service
valuations that measure the financial value these services
provide. When natural capital is included in the economic
conversation, we can make better informed policy decisions
and begin generating funds to pay for building sustainable,
healthy communities.
The concept of valuing ecosystem services has proven
effective for understanding the connection between
ecosystems and human well-being. A huge step forward
was taken when the President recently released Principles
and Guidelines requiring that ecosystem services
framework be adopted by all Federal Departments and
Agencies with jurisdiction over, or impact upon, natural
resources, especially water. Today, a number of U.S. federal
agencies house dedicated ecosystem services departments,
including the Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Geological
Survey, and the Environmental Protection Agency. These
departments advance the understanding of how ecosystem
service valuations can be promoted to improve long-term
economic prosperity for the nation.
While resources are still being depleted at an alarming rate,
governments and individuals are grasping the connection
between natural systems and the economy. With tools like
the Ecosystem Valuation Toolkit, it will only get easier to
justify investment in ecosystems which, if properly valued
and preserved, will provide essential and life-sustaining
services to us all, well into the future.
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