Putting a value on environmental change

The value of the global environment to human well-being, health and livelihoods fell by around US$20 trillion (A$21.5 trillion) a year between 1997 and 2011 due to loss of wetlands, coral reefs and tropical forests, a new study from a team of international researchers has found.

The study, published in Global Environmental Change, found the total value of global ecosystem services in 2011 was US$124.8 trillion (A$134 trillion) a year, down from $US145 trillion a year in 1997. That compares to global GDP of just $US75.2 trillion in 2011.

Global ecosystem services measure the value of ecological systems to human well-being, on top of the usual economic measures contained in gross domestic product (GDP) figures.

"Nature is not just a pretty place. Nature is a large and important part of the real economy which adds to human well-being," said lead author Professor Robert Costanza, from Crawford School of Public Policy.

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http://phys.org/news/2014-05-environmental.html