Scaling biodiversity conservation through institutional reform
Biodiversity is fundamental to ecosystem services that support human well‑being and economic stability. This study highlights how more than half of global GDP depends on nature, while continued biodiversity loss could impose severe economic costs, underscoring the risks of undervaluing natural capital in policy and market decisions.
Subject Tags
- Climate risks
- Biodiversity
Abstract
Biodiversity underpins ecosystem services essential to human well-being and economic stability (IPBES, 2019). Addressing environmental degradation may require 10–25% of global gross domestic product (GDP), whereas continued biodiversity loss could impose even greater economic costs within a decade (IPBES, 2024). More than half of global GDP depends on ecosystem services (UNEP et al., 2022). These services, often invisible in markets, represent underpriced or excluded natural capital (IPBES, 2019). Their degradation causes long-term, irreversible losses that are rarely captured and misalignments between private interests and collective welfare, justifying biodiversity finance integration in investment systems (Deutz et al., 2020).
Citation
Zhang, L., Yang, F., Ding, J., Li, L., Shang, X., Liu, Y., ... & Giraudoux, P. (2026). Scaling biodiversity conservation through institutional reform. Conservation Biology, e70282.
TNC Authors
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Kui Peng
Science Lead & Interim Protect Director. China
The Nature Conservancy
Email: kui.peng@tnc.org