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Interview: Putting a Price
On the Real Value of Nature

How do you put a price tag on the value of nature? That’s the question Indian banker Pavan Sukhdev and

Pavan Sukhdev

his colleagues are seeking to answer in their international project on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), which culminated in a major report issued last month. The challenge, as Sukhdev sees it, is how to address the “economic invisibility of nature.” In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he cited various crucial benefits from nature that are often overlooked, including the capacity of wetlands for filtering water, the role of forests in preventing erosion and flooding, and the importance of bees in pollinating crops. “When did the bees last send you an invoice for pollination?” he asks.
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