This study synthesises insights from “Natural Capital Germany – TEEB DE,” with a particular focus on rural areas. The objectives of the TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) study were to explore causes of the continued decline of ecosystem services and biodiversity and to introduce case studies exemplifying their economic significance in land use decisions. Building upon this analysis, key recommendations for policy, planning, and management are provided.
The findings indicate that the continued decrease of ecosystem services and biodiversity in Germany can be explained by implementation deficits within a well-established nature conservation system. Three case studies on grassland protection, the establishment of riverbank buffer zones, and water-sensitive farming illustrate the potential usefulness of introducing an economic perspective in conveying recognition of the values of ecosystem services and biodiversity. The authors provide five recommendations for enhancing the value of natural capital in rural areas:
- Highlighting the benefits of ecosystem services,
- Minimizing land use for settlements and traffic,
- Reducing nutrient surpluses,
- Advancing agri-environmental policy, and
- Pushing for further policy integration.
Related Case Studies
The study provides stakeholders with an indication of the true magnitude of the economic and natural capital costs associated with agricultural commodity production and presents a framework that can be used to measure the net environmental benefits associated with different agricultural management practices.
This study showcases the German experience with developing an accounting system that embeds a high proportion of economic and environmental indicators of the national Strategy on Sustainable Development. It then derives a more general three-step approach for such an integration exercise: (1) revision of the indicator set, (2) expansion of the accounting system to meet new data needs, and (3) development of appropriate modelling approaches for an integrated environmental, social, and economic analysis.
This report presents the results of an attempt to derive a damage function for soil loss using 20-year data projected through the application of the Erosion Productivity Index Calculator (EPIC) in one soil conservation project site in the Philippines.
Gedaref State was previously known as the food basket of Sudan. Over several decades unsustainable agricultural practices that combined near-monocropping with low nutrient replenishment have led to significant degradation of soils, which are no longer able to sustain farmer livelihoods. This study found that adopting an integrated sustainable land use...