Interim Report - TEEB

many dimensions of biodiversity loss, or the connections
between biodiversity loss, climate change and economic
development. Species loss and ecosystem degradation are
inextricably linked to human well-being, and unless we take
urgent remedial action, “normal service” – in the sense of
being able to enjoy the benefits that our environment affords
us – may never be resumed.
Humanity receives countless benefits from the natural
environment in the form of goods and services (generally
grouped under the collective title of ecosystem services) such
as food, wood, clean water, energy, protection from floods
and soil erosion (see Box 1.1). Natural ecosystems are also
the source of many life-saving drugs as well as providing
sinks for our wastes, including carbon. Human development
has also been shaped by the environment, and this
interlinkage has strong social, cultural and aesthetic
importance. The well-being of every human population in
the world is fundamentally and directly dependent on
ecosystem services.
However, the levels of many of the benefits we derive from
the environment have plunged over the past 50 years as
biodiversity has fallen dramatically across the globe. Here are
some examples:
• In the last 300 years, the global forest area has shrunk
by approximately 40%. Forests have completely
Box 1.1: Key terms
• An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant,
animal and micro-organism communities and their
non-living environment interacting as a functional
unit. Examples of ecosystems include deserts, coral
reefs, wetlands, rainforests, boreal forests, grasslands,
urban parks and cultivated farmlands.
Ecosystems can be relatively undisturbed by
people, such as virgin rainforests, or can be
modified by human activity.
• Ecosystem services are the benefits that people
obtain from ecosystems. Examples include food,
freshwater, timber, climate regulation, protection
from natural hazards, erosion control, pharmaceutical
ingredients and recreation.
• Biodiversity is the quantity and variability among
living organisms within species (genetic diversity),
between species and between ecosystems.
Biodiversity is not itself an ecosystem service but
underpins the supply of services. The value placed
on biodiversity for its own sake is captured under
the cultural ecosystem service called “ethical
values”.
disappeared in 25 countries, and another 29 countries
have lost more than 90% of their forest cover. The
decline continues (FAO 2001; 2006).
• Since 1900, the world has lost about 50% of its
wetlands. While much of this occurred in northern
countries during the first 50 years of the 20th century,
there has been increasing pressure since the 1950s for
conversion of tropical and sub-tropical wetlands to
alternative land use (Moser et al. 1996).
• Some 30% of coral reefs – which frequently have even
higher levels of biodiversity than tropical forests – have
been seriously damaged through fishing, pollution,
disease and coral bleaching (Wilkinson 2004).
• In the past two decades, 35% of mangroves have
disappeared. Some countries have lost up to 80%
through conversion for aquaculture, overexploitation
and storms (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
2005a).
• The human-caused (anthropogenic) rate of species
extinction is estimated to be 1,000 times more rapid
than the “natural” rate of extinction typical of Earth’s
long-term history (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
2005b).
The effect of trends such as these is that approximately
60% of the Earth’s ecosystem services that have been
examined have been degraded in the last 50 years, with
human impacts being the root cause (Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment 2005c). Further declines are
projected over the coming decades because of factors
such as population growth, changing land use, economic
expansion and global climate change. Leading international
economic organizations such as the World Bank and the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) confirm these worrying predictions. The OECD has
described a highly daunting combination of challenges
facing humanity: tackling climate change, halting
biodiversity loss, ensuring clean water and adequate
12 The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity