Trends Natural capital 2/4
ment
Our environ with $72
des us
provi
of 'free'
trillion worth rvices each
se
goods and degradation
year, but its ghly the
costs us rou 8% of GDP
equivalent of
ple, and the adverse effect when assets
are reduced, damaged or lost. It is a recognition that the pursuit of economic
growth must not come at the expense of
future growth potential.
There's a business imperative too. Our
environment provides us with $72 trillion
worth of 'free' goods and services each
year, but its degradation costs us roughly the equivalent of 8% of GDP. With
our natural resources being impacted
by a range of pressures, such as damaging climate change and biodiversity loss,
proponents of natural capital accounting
argue that preserving these assets must
become an explicit, accountable, and
implemented element of policy to protect our future wealth and wellbeing.
The concept of natural capital therefore holds significant interest for all
Certified well-managed forestry can help support a range of biodiversity
businesses. Placing a monetary value on
these resources can help us understand
the true worth of our economic sustainability.
The growing importance of natural
capital accounting is evidenced by its
discussion at Rio+20 last June and the
UK Government's promise to reform
its national accounts to reflect natural
wealth by 2020. Even the World Bank,
