definition of economics, types of economic systems, environmental impacts of traditional economic systems, Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), Ecological economics and its capitals, Conventional unsustainable vs Environmentally sustainable economic growth, Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity,Ecological Economics And Biodiversity Conservation

1. Ecological Economics and
Biodiversity Conservation
Saroj Upadhyay

2. What is Economy?
• An economy is a system of production, distribution and consumption of
goods and services that satisfies people’s wants or needs.
Economic resources: 4 kinds
• Natural resources/capital
• Human resources
• Financial resources
• Manufactured resources

3. Types of Economic systems
Economic
system
Market
Pure Free
Market
Capitalist
Market
Command

4. What Causes Environmental Impacts
Types of Economic
System
Cause of Environmental pollution and Degradation
Command Economic activities (flow of matter and energy resources)
Market Too little economic incentives to care for the environment

5. Environmental Decline
• Conventional economics underlies the
assumption that an economy is a system that is
essentially isolated form the natural world and
only involves a circular exchange of goods and
services between businesses and households.
• Ignores the origin of natural resources flowing
into the system and the fate of the wastes
flowing out of the system

6. Environmental Decline
• Biodiversity is under serious threat from human activities that lead to land
use, fragmentation, harvesting, hunting, pollution and climate change
• With continued economic growth, it is likely that the pressure on current
biodiversity will increase
• Depletion of resources and discharge of waste into the biosphere

7. GNI and GDP
1. GNI and GDP hide the harmful environmental and
social effects of producing goods and services
2. GNI and GDP does not include the depletion and
degradation of natural resources
3. GNI and GDP hide the enormous waste of natural
and human resources because they measure only
money spent
4. GNI and GDP does not tell anything about income
distribution and economic justice

8. Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)
The EKC hypothesis suggests that
environmental effects are initially low at
low levels of economic growth.
However, as development proceeds, the
rate of pollution increases. At higher
levels of economic development,
countries are able through structural
change to substitute towards industrial
and agricultural technologies that are less
harmful to the environment.

9. Ecological Economics
• Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary field that aims to improve and
expand economic theory to integrate the earth’s natural systems, human
values and human health and well-being.
• Consider the earth’s natural resources vital because they support all life and
economic systems
• Believe conventional economic growth as unsustainable
• Integrates Ecology with Economics

10. Capitals in Ecological Economics
Built: Buildings, cars, infrastructure created by human industry.
Social: Interactions with others (friends, family) and structure of
society (language, institution, laws)
Natural: Goods and services provided by nature
Human: Sum of our own health, personal experiences, education,
talents, skills and interests

11. Paradiam Shift
• The Industrial Age view
11
• The Sustainability Age view
Economy
Society Environment
Environment
Society
Economy

12. Comparison: Conventional unsustainable and
Environmentally sustainable economic growth
Characteristics Unsustainable Economic
Growth
Sustainable Economic
Growth
Production emphasis Quantity Quality
Natural Resources Not very Important Very Important
Resource productivity Inefficient (high waste) Efficient (low waste)
Resource input High Low
Emphasized resource type Non-renewable Renewable
Resource fate Matter discarded 3R
Pollution control Cleanup (output reduction) Prevention (input reduction)
Guiding principles Risk benefit analysis Prevention and precaution

13. Ecological Economics And Biodiversity
Conservation
• Biodiversity as the underpinning
foundation of ecological economics as it
provides the ecosystem services and
resources upon which economic activity
depends
• Biodiversity can provide economic
benefits and conservation should be
viewed as an area of economic
opportunity, and not as a constraint

14. Fiber
Food
Spiritual & religious
Freshwater
Genetic resources
Climate regulation
Water purification
Disease regulation
Flood/Fire regulation
Recreation & tourism
Aesthetic
Economic Value ($)
Economic
Valuation
Difficult or
impossible
Easy
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity
Monetary: e.g. avoided water purification
costs, avoided flood damage, tourist value, value
of medicines / pharmaceuticals from natural
products
Qualitative: e.g. health benefits from clean air,
social benefits from recreation, income from
products, security, wellbeing.

15. Ecological Economics And Biodiversity
Conservation
Ecological economics doesn't sees biodiversity conservation as a cost but rather
as an opportunity
• to increase the profits from various economic activities,
• to mitigate risks and decrease costs due to degraded ecosystems
• as well as to develop new products taking advantage of the benefits provided
by nature in a sustainable manner.

16. Conclusion