The new major study calls on policy-makers to accelerate investments in the management and restoration of ecosystems. It gives clear recommendations to policy-makers across the globe and calls for more sophisticated analysis of benefits and costs taking account of nature before policy decisions are made.
The report highlights that fundamental reforms are needed, such as including natural capital formation and destruction in the accounts of society; and expanding the reach of markets in order to enable payments for ecosystem services.
Examples from a number of countries show that investments in ecological infrastructure pay off. For instance, investment in the national protected area system in Venezuela is preventing sedimentation that otherwise could reduce farm earnings by around $3.5 million a year.
TEEB for policy makers is one of a series of five interconnected reports. It was coordinated by Patrick ten Brink, Head of the Brussels office of the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP).
The other TEEB studies include the Report on Ecological and Economic Foundations (parts of which were published online in September 2009) and targeted end-user studies for local and regional administrators, business and citizens. These will be released in the coming months. The final TEEB synthesis report will be launched in October 2010.
More information and detailed chapters are available on the TEEB website