Line | The argument for monetizing—or putting a | |
monetary value on—ecosystem functions may be | ||
stated thus: Concern about the depletion of natural | ||
resources is widespread, but this concern, in the | ||
(5) | absence of an economic argument for conservation, | |
has not translated into significant conservational | ||
progress. Some critics blame this impasse on | ||
environmentalists, whom they believe fail to address | ||
the economic issues of environmental degradation. | ||
(10) | Conservation can appear unprofitable when compared | |
with the economic returns derived from converting | ||
natural assets (pristine coastlines, for example) into | ||
explicitly commercial ones (such as resort hotels). | ||
But according to David Pearce, that illusion stems | ||
(15) | from the fact that services provided by ecological | |
systems are not traded on the commodities market, | ||
and thus have no readily quantifiable value. To | ||
remedy this, says Pearce, one has to show that all | ||
ecosystems have economic value—indeed, that all | ||
(20) | ecological services are economic services. Tourists | |
visiting wildlife preserves, for example, create | ||
jobs and generate income for national economies; | ||
undisturbed forests and wetlands regulate water | ||
runoff and act as water-purifying systems, saving | ||
(25) | millions of dollars worth of damage to property | |
and to marine ecosystems. In Gretchen Dailys | ||
view, monetization, while unpopular with many | ||
environmentalists, reflects the dominant role that | ||
economic considerations play in human behavior, | ||
(30) | and the expression of economic value in a common | |
currency helps inform environmental decision-making | ||
processes. |
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