Valuing Ecosystems Flashcards
Describe neoclassical economics
- buyers want lowest price, sellers want highest price
- results in a compromise price, and the “right” quantities are sold
What are 4 assumptions of the neoclassical theory?
Why are these problematic?
- resources are infinite or replaceable
- long-term effects should be ignored
- costs and benefits are internal
- growth is good & it’s the only thing that matters
Problem: massive enviro implications!! Not at all sustainable
Tragedy of the Commons=
The tragedy of the commons is strongly connected to ____ ____
= analogy that shows how people driven by self-interest can end up destroying the resource that they all depend on
Malthusian catastrophe
Neoclassical economics assumes that costs and benefits are internal. Why is this not the case?
everything is connected! Your decisions will always impact others somehow
= externalities (can be + or -, usually - in this case)
What could be a solution to neoclassical economics and the problems it has?
think beyond a single economic bottom line (which is the net income of a company/ gov- traditional economics)
single bottom line system=
generating profit is the only focus
- only considering themselves
triple bottom line system (3BL or TBL)=
being socially and environmentally responsible is used together with profitability to evaluate the performance/ success of a company.
Considers:
- economics (profit)
- social (people)
- environmental (planet)
What are the 3 P’s of the 3BL system?
- When is it sustainable?
- When is it “bearable”?
- When is it “Viable”?
- When is it “Equitable”?
People, planet, profit
- Sustainable only when all 3 are considered (people, planet, profit)
- Bearable: planet and people are considered
- Viable: planet and profit are considered
- Equitable: people and profit are considered
Ecosystem goods and services=
the benefits humans derive (directly or indirectly) from ecosystem functions
ecosystem function=
the capacity of natural processes & components to provide goods & services that satisfy human needs (directly or indirectly)
What are the 4 types of ecosystem services?
- provisioning
- regulating
- cultural
- supporting
ecosystem services: provisioning=
list 4 examples
the delivery (provisioning) of products that we directly use
- water
- food
- energy
- medicine
ecosystem services: regulating=
list 1 example
services provided that regulate our environment
- flood control
ecosystem services: cultural
list 2 examples
“non-material” benefits that enrich the human experience
- hiking
- nature- inspired art
ecosystem services: supporting
give 1 example
the provision (delivery) of ecosystem processes needed to support life and all other ecosystem services
* essential to survival of us and the planet
- soil formation
Who introduced the triple bottom line system? When?
John Elkington in 1994
Given this list of ecosystem services, which category would each be in?
1. nutrient cycling
2. water regulation
3. food production
- supporting category
- provisioning category (because the regulation of hydrological flows= provisioning of water for our different sectors)
- provisioning category
ecosystem valuation= using ___ as a common unit
money
capital=
goods & services of economic value; resources that can be used to produce goods
social capital=
the value of relationships between people
natural capital=
the summation of all the ecosystem services on earth, available to us for free
ecosystem valuation=
the assignment of economic value to an ecosystem or ecosystem services
*values are based on current market prices; constantly updated
ecosystem valuation often represents:
1.
2.
- the monetary cost of replacing the ecosystem service
- the monetary value of the capital gained from the resource (based on historical data)
Ecosystem valuation
The value of forest carbon (carbon sequestration) in Alberta would be $_____ based on current amount stored (4.8 billion tonnes)
$144 billion
economic development=
progress made toward a sustainable economic system
have we achieved a sustainable economic system yet?
no :(
most countries still support a rapid economic growth rather than a sustainable economic development (especially developing countries)
- this is partly b/c of pressure from public (jobs etc)
T/F
many ecosystem services are only substitutable (replaceable) up to a certain point
true
- which ecosystem service has the highest global value?
- Are marine or terrestrial ecosystems more valuable?
- give 2 examples of places with very high global value
- nutrient cycle
- marine
- amazon rainforest, coasts
If an ecosystem services completely loses its value, what does that mean?
we’ve destroyed it/ overused it :(
