Protecting nature has bigger economic benefit than exploiting it

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A new study analysing sites across the world has found that in most cases, economic benefits are higher when habitats are conserved or restored rather than converted to human uses such as farming. These findings add important ammunition to our fight for a greener future.

A research team involving the University of Cambridge, BirdLife International and other institutions, analysed dozens of sites across six continents. Many of them are classed as Key Biodiversity Areas, their locations ranging from Kenya to Fiji and China to the UK.

The team assessed the value of the ecosystem services provided by each site – such as carbon storage and flood protection – under a scenario where it is conserved or restored. They compared this with the expected benefits if the site had been converted to the most plausible human use (e.g. agriculture or logging). In the vast majority of cases, conserving/ restoring the site was found to deliver greater benefits. 

One of the most significant benefits comes from the regulation of the greenhouse gases driving climate change, including carbon. Researchers analysed 24 of the sites in greater detail, finding that if each tonne of carbon released into the atmosphere carries a cost of $31 to global society (a highly conservative estimate), then over 70% of the sites have greater monetary value as when conserved/  restored.

Even if carbon is removed completely from calculations, researchers found that almost half the sites are still worth more to us in their natural form. “Stemming biodiversity loss is a vital goal in itself, but nature also fundamentally underpins human wellbeing,” says lead author Dr Richard Bradbury from the RSPB.

Source - https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/protecting-nature-has-bigger-economic-benefit-exploiting-it

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@Republican Party

Even if there were zero economic need to maintain nature, we should just for the beauty of it