A controversial paper gets an update

From the inbox:

Hi.

I just wanted to alert you to our new paper titled "Changes in the global value of ecosystem services" in Global Environmental Change.

This paper builds on our 1997 paper published in Nature on the global value of ecosystem services, and estimates the changes since then. It updates the unit value estimates based on work done by the TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) study and combines them with new global land use estimates to arrive at the first estimates of the changes in global ecosystem services value between 1997 and 2011 in monetary units. We estimate (with appropriate caveats) that the loss of ecosystem services from 1997 to 2011 is on the order of $20 Trillion/yr.

The paper also addresses some of the misconceptions and critiques arising from the 1997 paper and compares the results with more elaborate global systems modeling approaches.

You can view and download the paper at:

https://sites.google.com/a/idakub.com/www/CV/publications/2014_Costanza_GlobalValueUpdate.pdf

or:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378014000685

If you have any trouble, let me know and we can send you a copy.

All the best

Bob

Dr. Robert Costanza

• Professor and Chair of Public Policy
  Crawford School of Public Policy (https://crawford.anu.edu.au/)
  Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

Here is a link to what I've said in the past: http://www.env-econ.net/2006/10/asking_the_wron.html. I've softened my views on this a bit. I really don't think there is anything wrong with this sort of valuation as long as the authors and readers are aware that this sort of valuation isn't appropriate for benefit-cost analysis. The purpose is mostly in the area of environmental awareness.