Attaching economic values to our ecosystems (RTCC)

Responding to Climate Change (RTCC) climate change TV at Rio+20 / June 2011

Aly Abou-Sabaa from the African Development Bank explains why he believes it is so important to place an economic value on the environment because there is currently over exploitation of the oceans, forests, water and minerals.

While the process of how you value the environment is still being worked on he explains it is possible to recognise the multiple services provided by forests such as capturing greenhouse gases. He argues this could be a cheaper way to reduce carbon dioxide than other options.

He gives the example of potentially expensive proposals such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). He says this model could be applied to other natural resources.

He says valuing natural resources will be a key pillar of green growth and green development. This will be particularly important in developing countries where it could affect government policy and planning when decisions are made on what development path to follow.

Abou-Sabaa disagrees putting a monetary value on the environment will mean indigenous peoples lose control over their lands. He believes that recognising nature’s economic value will benefit all stakeholders because they will be aware of the costs of unsustainable levels of exploitation. In the case of forests this would include forest communities, commercial companies and those managing forests.

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This summary was prepared by Why Green Economy?. The views expressed have been paraphrased. See the original source for more information.