Valuing nature: the case of tropical forests and Costa Rica

The paper focuses on the failure to account for the value of standing tropical forests, and of ecosystem services in general, in economic decision-making. This blindness to the values of nature has led to overexploitation, degradation and destruction of tropical forests, which, in turn, has also sig...

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Published inPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences Vol. 379; no. 1903; p. 20220320
Main Author Umaña Quesada, Alvaro
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 10.06.2024
Subjects
economics
biodiversity
global common resources
forests
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Summary:The paper focuses on the failure to account for the value of standing tropical forests, and of ecosystem services in general, in economic decision-making. This blindness to the values of nature has led to overexploitation, degradation and destruction of tropical forests, which, in turn, has also significantly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions. Forest conservation and restoration has a critical role to play in the fight against climate change and brings a vast array of additional benefits, from security in water, energy, food, health and livelihoods to maintaining biodiversity itself as a core component of our living planet. As first Minister of Environment and Energy under President Oscar Arias (1986-1990), I brought these views into societal decision-making in Costa Rica and here I briefly describe how. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'.
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ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2022.0320