TEEB is an independent study, led by Pavan Sukhdev, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with financial support from the European Commission, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Sweden and Japan.
‘Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature’ is the last in a series of inter-connected reports:
-
‘TEEB Ecological and Economic Foundations’, coordinated by Pushpam Kumar of the University of Liverpool;
-
‘TEEB for Policy Makers’ coordinated by Patrick ten Brink of the Institute of European Environmental Policy (IEEP);
-
‘TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers’ coordinated by Heidi Wittmer of the UFZ Helmholtz Research Centre and Haripriya Gundimeda of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay; and
-
‘TEEB for Business’ coordinated by Josh Bishop of IUCN.
A ‘TEEB for Citizens’ website can be found at www.teeb4me.com.
US $ 50 billion
The annual loss of opportunity due to the current over-exploitation of global fisheries. Competition between highly subsidized industrial fishing fleets coupled with poor regulation and weak enforcement of existing rules has led to over-exploitation of most commercially valuable fish stocks, reducing the income from global marine fisheries by US $ 50 billion annually, compared to a more sustainable fishing scenario (World Bank and FAO 2009).
Euros 153 billion
Insect pollinators are nature’s multi-billion dollar providers. For 2005, the total economic value of insect pollination was estimated at Euros 153 billion. This represents 9.5% of world agricultural output for human food in 2005. (Gallai et al. 2009)
US $ 30 billion – US $ 172 billion
The annual value of human welfare benefits provided by coral reefs. Although just covering 1.2% of the world’s continent shelves, coral reefs are home to an estimated 1-3 million species including more than a quarter of all marine fish species. (Allsopp et al. 2009). Some 30 million people in coastal and island communities are totally reliant on reef-based resources as their primary means of food production, income and livelihood. (Gomez et al. 1994, Wilkinson 2004) Estimates of the value of human welfare benefits provided by coral reefs range from US $ 30 billion (Cesar et al. 2003) to US $ 172 billion annually (Martinez et al. 2007).
US $ 20 million – US $ 67 million (over four years)
The benefits of tree planting in the city of Canberra. Local authorities in Canberra, Australia, have planted 400,000 trees to regulate microclimate, reduce pollution and thereby improve urban air quality, reduce energy costs for air conditioning as well as store and sequester carbon. These benefits are expected to amount to some US $ 20 million – US $ 67 million over the period 2008-2012, in terms of the value generated or savings realized for the city. (Brack 2002)
US $ 6.5 billion
The amount saved by New York, by investing in payments to maintain natural water purification services in the Catskills watershed. (US $ 1 billion – US $ 1.5 billion) rather than opt for the man-made solution of a filtration plant (US $ 6-8 billion plus US $ 300-500 million/year operating costs). (Perrot-Maitre and Davis 2001).
50
The number of (rupees) millionaires in Hiware Bazaar, India, as the result of regenerating 70 hectares of degraded forests. This led to the number of active wells in the surrounding area doubling, grass production increasing and income from agriculture increasing due to the enhancement of local ecosystem services (a TEEB case mainly based on Neha Sakhuja).
Further examples available at www.teebweb.org.
Source: UNEP Press Release dated October 20, 2010.
Related Stories:
- Aichi-Nagoya Biodiversity Summit: A New Biodiversity Strategy for 21st Century
- Nagoya 2010 – Carbon Mapping to Curb Climate Change and Boost Biodiversity
- Valuing Nature the Way to Protect it, WWF Advises Biodiversity Summit
- The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Report for Local and Regional Policy Makers Launched
