Economic issues
Regulating Green Finance and Managing Environmental Risks in the Conditions of Global UncertaintyBackgroundThis paper examines how growing global uncertainty, driven by geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation, climate risks, and declining international cooperation, increases the environmental, energy, and socio-economic risks confronting countries. In this context, green finance is a strategic tool to support sustainable development and strengthen resilience; however, the green finance landscape remains highly fragmented, with uneven regulatory frameworks, large disparities between developed and developing countries, and persistent volatility that limits effective environmental risk management. Open access copy available |
The natural capital framework for sustainably efficient and equitable decision makingBackgroundThe concept of ‘natural capital’ is increasingly accepted in government and private sector decision-making for its role in sustaining economic and social well-being. However, the field is fragmented, and many applications misuse its foundations in economics and ecology, which this perspective addresses by proposing an integrated framework. Available with subscription or purchase |
Valuing natural capital and ecosystem services toward the goals of efficiency, fairness, and sustainabilityBackgroundNatural capital (NC) and ecosystem services (ES) are fundamental to sustaining human life, but valuing them requires a whole-system understanding of the interdependencies between humans and nature. Conventional economic valuation, based solely on individual willingness-to-pay, is too narrow for this complex task. Available with subscription or purchase |
Ecosystem services in decision making: time to deliverBackgroundOver the past decade, valuing and protecting ecosystem services has been promoted as a strategy to mainstream conservation globally. While the vision of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is gaining traction, a significant scientific and policy-implementation gap remains. Natural capital is often undervalued or ignored in major decisions by governments, businesses, and the public, a problem highlighted by natural disasters and crises where the loss of protective services becomes starkly apparent. Open access copy available |
Diverse values of nature for sustainabilityBackgroundDespite 25 years of progress in valuing ecosystem services, a global biodiversity crisis persists, underpinned by a "values crisis." Current policies and decisions often prioritize a narrow subset of market-based instrumental values, ignoring the diverse ways people relate to and benefit from nature. This paper, based on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Values Assessment, synthesizes over 50,000 sources to address this gap. Open access copy available |
Forests, food, and fuel in the tropics: the uneven social and ecological consequences of the emerging political economy of biofuelsBackgroundOpen access copy available |
The Social Life of Forest Carbon: Property and Politics in the Production of a New CommodityBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
The Prospects for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Vietnam: A Look at Three Payment SchemesBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Willingness to Pay for Mangroves’ Coastal Protection: A Case Study in Santo Angel, Calauag, Quezon, PhilippinesBackgroundPeople recognize mangroves for providing crucial coastal protection against strong wave actions, including tsunamis and storm surges, with examples from Bangladesh, Florida, and the Philippines demonstrating their effectiveness. However, despite their importance, global mangrove extent has been decreasing, primarily due to human activities, particularly in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, land-use conversion, exploitation, and natural hazards have significantly reduced mangrove areas since the early 1900s. Open access copy available |
Could Payments for Forest Carbon Contribute to Improved Tropical Forest Management?BackgroundThis study addresses the ongoing debate over whether carbon finance can incentivize better logging practices, especially in areas where unregulated logging causes severe environmental degradation. Under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), industrialized countries finance carbon sequestration projects in developing nations to help meet their emissions reduction targets. However, this approach raises concerns that such mechanisms may let developed countries delay cutting their own fossil fuel emissions. The paper investigates whether forest carbon payments can support improved natural forest management (NFM) in tropical regions. Open access copy available |
