Natural capital – our ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources – underpins economies, societies and individual wellbeing. The values of its myriad benefits are, however, often overlooked or poorly understood. They are rarely taken fully into accountthrough economic signals in markets, or in day to day decisions by business and citizens, nor indeed reflected adequately in the accounts of society. The steady loss of forests, soils, wetlands and coral reefs is closely tied to this economic invisibility. So too are the losses of species and of productive assets like fisheries, driven partly by ignoring values beyond the immediate and private. We are running down our natural capital stock without understanding the value of what we are losing. Missed opportunities to invest in this natural capital contribute to the biodiversity crisisthat is becoming more evident and more pressing by the day. The degradation of soils, air, water and biological resources can negatively impact on...

This Briefing Document, by Tomorrow’s Company, summarises the international initiative on ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ (TEEB), and focuses on the roles that businesses can play in that initiative. It presents the business case for the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. The Tomorrow's Company Briefing Documents are intended to provide the reader with a comprehensive introduction to a particular topic. You can find the full list of Briefing Documents on forceforgood.com here. 

An outstanding presentation put together by Joshua Bishop and of great value and contribution to 'The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity' (TEEB)  for business report.

The Ubuntu Declaration is the product of the recent Emergency Congress, with Rights and Humanity, the South African Human Rights Commission and Tomorrow's Company. The Declaration sets out a holistic and systemic policy framework for what to do now to protect the world's poorest peoples, how to reform the global financial system, and how to create the conditions for sustainable development and effective growth. It starts by recognising  - as we would describe it - the importance of 'the triple context': that we all need to bring the economic, social and environmental systems into balance. The Ubuntu declaration consciously and clearly argues for the alignment of the development agenda alongside tackling the climate crunch, the credit crunch  and the threat to  biodiversity.   Amongst other things It calls for one third - $750bn - or current world stimulus packages to be focussed to the green agenda: recongising that this will be the most efficient in creating jobs and building a...

The attached is a presentation made by Pavan Sukhdev in Bonn earlier this year to commemorate Green Week 2008. It elaborates what TEEB really is, and illustrates the ecological, valuation and ethical challenges that lie ahead of us.