Globalisation and Nature Policy: An Integrated Environmental-Economic Framework
The search for a framework to study globalisation, economics and ecology for nature conservation and biodiversity protection requires the integration of concepts, theories and models from economics and ecology. This allows for the study of interactions between economic and ecological processes, including protection of species and biodiversity, sustainable and optimal use of renewable resources, land use and physical planning, maintenance of nature areas, acquisition of nature areas, and development of outdoor recreation areas. Economic theories relating to nature and ecosystems have focused on notions of capital theory and intertemporal trade-offs, decision making under uncertainty and irreversibility, and marginal valuation and cost-benefit analysis. Recently, the conservation and valuation of biodiversity, and the resilience of ecological and combined ecological-economic systems, have attracted a great deal of attention in the environmental and resource economics literature. In addition, the distinction between local and global costs and benefits of environmental and biodiversity policies is regarded to have significant impacts on international co-operation.<BR> Ecology can be incorporated in economic analyses in various ways, notably by offering information about the hierarchy of dynamic ecological processes, including population dynamics, ecosystem succession and cycles, and long run trends of selection and evolution. Biodiversity has been linked to resilience in the analysis of complex ecological-economic systems. Understanding of ecosystem irreversibility and uncertainty can improve economic analysis of decisions with impacts on ecosystem. Ecosystem performance indicators, such as those proposed around the concept of ecosystem health, can be useful for multidisciplinary modelling and evaluation studies. Finally, monetary valuation studies of goods and services provided by ecosystems can be complemented by detailed information about ecosystem scenarios and functions.<BR> The paper discusses existing approaches to integrate economics and ecology, reviews the most important studies found in the literature, and suggests a number of general frameworks and models to address pressing policy questions relating to globalisation, conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of natural resources, and sustainable land use.
Year of publication: |
1999-11-18
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Authors: | Heide, C. Martijn van der ; Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M. van den ; Ierland, Ekko C. van |
Institutions: | Tinbergen Institute |
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