MSGID: 1:317/3 649a65ec   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Investing in nature improves equity, boosts economy    
      
     Date:   
         June 26, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Minnesota   
     Summary:   
         A new study shows that current trends in environmental degradation   
         will lead to large economic losses in the coming decades, hitting   
         the poorest countries hardest. But there is hope: investing in   
         nature can turn those losses into gains.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A new study shows that current trends in environmental degradation will   
   lead to large economic losses in the coming decades, hitting the poorest   
   countries hardest. But there is hope: investing in nature can turn those   
   losses into gains.   
      
   Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Purdue University   
   published their findings inProceedings of the National Academy   
   of Sciences. The team developed a first-of-its-kind, global   
   earth-economy model to capture interactions between the economy and the   
   environment. Crucially, these interactions include how nature benefits   
   humans by pollinating crops, providing timber, storing carbon, and   
   providing catch for marine fisheries, and how those benefits end up   
   affecting the economy overall.   
      
   "We have long thought of the economy and the environment as working   
   against each other," said Justin Johnson, an assistant professor of   
   Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. "Investing in nature   
   does not stifle the economy, it boosts the economy. But it has been   
   difficult to model those interactions until recently."  The researchers   
   found:   
       * Policy options for investing in nature resulted in annual gains   
       of $100-   
         350 billion (2014 USD), with the largest percentage increases in   
         GDP occurring in low-income countries. The policy options examined   
         in this study include removing agricultural subsidies, financing   
         research into improving crop yields and international payments   
         from wealthy countries to poorer countries to support conservation.   
      
       * Continued trends in environmental degradation, on the other hand,   
       would   
         result in $75 billion losses annually, with the low-income countries   
         suffering from 0.2% losses in GDP year on year.   
      
   The researchers combined a global general equilibrium economic model,   
   GTAP (developed at Purdue University's Center for Global Trade Analysis),   
   with a suite of ecosystem service models, InVEST (developed at Stanford   
   University's Natural Capital Project). GTAP and InVEST are both widely   
   used across the world by governments, non-governmental organizations   
   and the private sector, but putting them together was a significant   
   undertaking.   
      
   "Traditional economic models of this kind almost completely neglect the   
   fact that the economy relies on nature," said Tom Hertel, a distinguished   
   professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. "This new   
   study required a detailed understanding of how and where land use   
   patterns change as a result of economic activity, with enough spatial   
   detail to understand environmental consequences of these changes. It   
   is a huge achievement."  The results from this research highlight how   
   public goods and services provided by the environment are often most   
   important for the world's poorest, who have less access to alternative   
   options when the environment is degraded.   
      
   Consequently, investing in nature tends to make the world a more equitable   
   place. This research only looks at a small subset of the ways in which   
   the economy and the environment interact, nevertheless finding strikingly   
   large effects.   
      
   "Of course nature provides much more than pollinators, timber, carbon   
   and fish," said Johnson. "Our future work will incorporate many more   
   ecosystem services, leading to much more informed decision-making. This   
   is just the beginning: we hope to make this kind of analysis a standard   
   tool in a policy- maker's toolbox."  Financial support for the study came   
   from the University of Minnesota, Purdue University and the National   
   Science Foundation. Researchers from the World Bank and the University   
   of Victoria also contributed to this study.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Nature # Biology # Agriculture_and_Food   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Environmental_Policy # Environmental_Issues #   
                   Environmental_Awareness   
             o Science_&_Society   
                   # Economics # Land_Management # Environmental_Policies   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Catastrophe_modeling o Coastal_erosion o Economic_growth   
             o Privacy o Sustainable_land_management o Cyclone_Gafilo o   
             Environmental_impact_assessment o Judicial_power   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Minnesota. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Justin Andrew Johnson, Uris Lantz Baldos, Erwin Corong, Thomas   
      Hertel,   
         Stephen Polasky, Raffaello Cervigni, Toby Roxburgh, Giovanni Ruta,   
         Colette Salemi, Sumil Thakrar. Investing in nature can improve   
         equity and economic returns. Proceedings of the National Academy   
         of Sciences, 2023; 120 (27) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220401120   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230626164149.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 17 weeks, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 218/700 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 291/111 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45 5075/35   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426