Biodiversity Loss
Economic and Ecological Issues

The book reports key findings of a research program in which economists and ecologists considered the consequences of biodiversity loss.

Charles Perrings (Edited by), Karl-Goran Maler (Edited by), Carl Folke (Edited by), C. S. Holling (Edited by), Bengt-Owe Jansson (Edited by)

9780521471787, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 July 1995

350 pages, 57 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.68 kg

"This book may be the most significant contribution to the interdisciplinary literature on biodiversity....Well-coordinated group discussions and sharing of draft research papers, joint research projects and chapter co-authorship by ecologists and economists, and strong and thoughtful editing have resulted in a coherent volume of original and strong contributions." Richard B. Norgaard, Journal of Wildlife Management

This volume reports key findings of the Biodiversity Program of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Beijer Institute. The program brought together a number of eminent ecologists and economists to consider the nature and significance of the biodiversity problem. In encouraging collaborative work between these closely related disciplines it sought to shed new light on the concept of diversity; the implications of biological diversity for the functioning of ecosystems; the driving forces behind biodiversity loss; and the options for promoting biodiversity conservation. The results of the program are surprising. It is shown that the core of the biodiversity problem is a loss of ecosystem resilience and the insurance it provides against the uncertain environmental effects of economic and population growth. This is as much a local as a global problem, implying that biodiversity conservation offers benefits that are as much local as global. The solutions as well as the causes of biodiversity loss lie in incentives to local users.

Introduction: Framing the problem of biodiversity loss C. Perrings, K.-G. Maler, C. Folke, C. S. Holling and B. O. Jansson
Part I. Conceptualising Diversity and Ecosystem Functions: 1.1. Diversity functions M.Weitzman
1.2. Biodiversity in the functioning of ecosystems C. S. Holling, D. W. Schindler, B. W. Walker and J. Roughgarden
1.3. Scale and biodiversity in coastal and estuarine ecosystems R. Constanza, M. Kemp and W. Boynton
Part II. Integrating Ecology and Economics in the Analysis of Biodiversity Loss: 2.1. Wetland valuation: three case studies R. K. Turner, C. Folke, I. M. Gren and I. Bateman
2.2. An ecological economy: notes on harvest and growth G. Brown and J. Roughgarden
2.3. Biodiversity loss and the economics of discontinuous change in semi-arid rangelands C. Perrings and B. W. Walker
Part III. The Economic Issues: 3.1. Economic growth and the environment K.-G. Maler
3.2. The international regulation of biodiversity decline T. Swanson
3.3. Policies to control tropical deforestation E. B. Barbier and M. Rauscher
3.4. On biodiversity conservation S. Barrett
Part IV. Conclusions: 4.1. Unanswered questions C. Perrings, K.-G. Maler, C. Folke, C. S. Holling and B. O. Jansson
References.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ]