Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems

M. A. Drupp, M. C. Hänsel, E. P. Fenichel, Mark Freeman, Christian Gollier, Ben Groom, G. M. Heal, P. H. Howard, Antony Millner, F. C. Moore, F. Nesje, Martin Quaas, Sjak Smulders, Thomas Sterner, Christian Traeger and F. Venmans
Additional contact information
M. A. Drupp: UHH - Universität Hamburg = University of Hamburg
M. C. Hänsel: Leipzig University / Universität Leipzig, PIK - Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung
E. P. Fenichel: Yale University [New Haven]
Mark Freeman: University of York [York, UK]
Christian Gollier: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Ben Groom: University of Exeter, University of London [London]
G. M. Heal: Columbia University [New York]
P. H. Howard: NYU - New York University [New York] - NYU - NYU System
Antony Millner: UC Santa Barbara - University of California [Santa Barbara] - UC - University of California
F. C. Moore: UC Davis - University of California [Davis] - UC - University of California
F. Nesje: ITU - IT University of Copenhagen
Sjak Smulders: Tilburg University [Tilburg] - Netspar
Thomas Sterner: University of Gothenburg
Christian Traeger: UiO - University of Oslo
F. Venmans: University of London [London]

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Abstract: Governments are catching up with economic theory and practice by increasingly integrating ecosystem service values into national planning processes, including benefitcost analyses of public policies. Such analyses require information not only about today's benefits from ecosystem services but also on how benefits change over time. We address a key limitation of existing policy guidance, which assumes that benefits from ecosystem services remain unchanged. We provide a practical rule that is grounded in economic theory and evidence-based as a guideline for how benefits change over time: They rise as societies get richer and even more so when ecosystem services are declining. Our proposal will correct a substantial downward bias in currently used estimates of future ecosystem service values. This will help governments to reflect the importance of ecosystems more accurately in benefit-cost analyses and policy decisions they inform.

Date: 2024-03-07
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04940784v1
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Published in Science, 2024, 383 (6687), pp.1062-1064. ⟨10.1126/science.adk2086⟩

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Working Paper: Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems (2024)
Working Paper: Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04940784

DOI: 10.1126/science.adk2086

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