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Investing in Natural Capital and Getting Returns: An Ecosystem Service Approach

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  • Marjan van den Belt
  • Daniella Blake

Abstract

The dependence of people and economies on natural capital is still undervalued. One reason is that values related to our global life support system are largely outside the market place, beyond the notion of price and often invisible. An ecosystem service approach aims to make visible the ensuing benefits people derive from natural capital at multiple scales, traversing private and public domains. Plural objectives require a broader notion of return on investment (ROI). This paper discusses characteristics of and a changing context in which ROI is used to invest in natural capital and highlights key aspects to achieve ROI on natural capital through an ecosystem service approach: space, time and values. This conceptual paper uses agro‐ecosystems as an example to illustrate this approach from farm to catchment scale. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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  • Marjan van den Belt & Daniella Blake, 2015. "Investing in Natural Capital and Getting Returns: An Ecosystem Service Approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(7), pages 667-677, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:24:y:2015:i:7:p:667-677
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1895
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    5. Zhongxun Zhang & Kaifang Shi & Zhiyong Zhu & Lu Tang & Kangchuan Su & Qingyuan Yang, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of the Rural Natural Capital Utilization Efficiency: A Case Study of Chongqing, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-29, May.
    6. Francisco Ascui & Theodor F. Cojoianu, 2019. "Implementing natural capital credit risk assessment in agricultural lending," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1234-1249, September.
    7. Benjamin S. Thompson, 2019. "Payments for ecosystem services and corporate social responsibility: Perspectives on sustainable production, stakeholder relations, and philanthropy in Thailand," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 497-511, May.
    8. César Augusto Ruiz-Agudelo & Francisco Paula Gutiérrez-Bonilla, 2024. "The remnant natural capital of the Magdalena-Cauca basin: immense losses for the 80% of Colombian inhabitants," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 14(1), pages 135-153, March.
    9. Valencia Torres, Angélica & Tiwari, Chetan & Atkinson, Samuel F., 2021. "Progress in ecosystem services research: A guide for scholars and practitioners," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    10. Gabriel Eweje, 2015. "Emerging Trends in CSR and Sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(7), pages 601-603, November.
    11. Dominati, Estelle J. & Mackay, Alec D. & Rendel, John M. & Wall, Andrew & Norton, David A. & Pannell, Jennifer & Devantier, Brian, 2021. "Farm scale assessment of the impacts of biodiversity enhancement on the financial and environmental performance of mixed livestock farms in New Zealand," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    12. Booth, Hollie & Milner-Gulland, E.J. & Starkey, Malcolm, 2023. "Operationalizing transformative change for business in the context of nature positive," OSF Preprints vk2hq, Center for Open Science.

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