Biodiversity Economics: Principles, Methods And Applications

This page intentionally left blank Biodiversity Economics Human-induced biodiversity loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction levels. The field of biodiversity economics analyses the socio-economic causes of and solutions to biodiversity loss by combining the disciplines of economics, ecology and biology. This field has shown a remarkable degree of transformation over the past four decades and now incorporates the analysis of the entire diversity of biological resources within the living world. Biodiversity Economics presents a series of papers that shows how bio-economic analysis can be applied to the examination and evaluation of the problem of various forms of biodiversity loss. Containing state-of-the-art bio-economic research by some of the leading practitioners in the field, this volume will be an essential research tool to those working on biodiversity issues in the academic, policy and private sectors.                is University Lecturer in the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge.          is University Lecturer in the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge.             is Chair in Law and Economics at the Department of Economics and Faculty of Law, University College London. Biodiversity Economics Edited by Andreas Kontoleon, Unai Pascual and Timothy Swanson CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521866835 © Cambridge University Press 2007 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2007 ISBN-13 978-0-511-53424-9 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-86683-5 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents List of figures List of tables List of contributors Preface Acknowledgements Foreword        .       (Chief Scientist IUCN) Introduction                ,                         1. Do we really care about biodiversity?    .     page ix xii xvi xx xxii xx