Biodiversity

Our Work

IEEP is at the forefront of developing ways to integrate environmentally-sound socio-economic signals into decision making, to recognise the true value of environmental resources and ecosystems, and thereby encourage resource efficiency. We are developing tools to assess, quantify and take up the multiple values of nature, biodiversity and ecosystem services. IEEP experts are making substantial contributions to the international TEEB initiative (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity), particularly through leading and contributing to the TEEB for policy makers, and TEEB Water reports, and advancing national and regional initiatives, for example in the Nordic countries, Finland, and the Danube Basin.

IEEP is promoting ways of assessing the complete benefits provided by protected areas, including estimates of the costs and benefits of Natura 2000. We have carried out major assessments of the costs of biodiversity actions in the EU (including the costs of restoring 15% of degraded ecosystems in accordance with Target 2 of the Biodiversity Strategy, and the costs of maintaining High Nature Value farmland, and the far greater costs of failing to protect biodiversity. We also look at the opportunities of using biodiversity conservation to advance social inclusion and create jobs.

More about our work in this area...

Latest in Assessing the costs and benefits of biodiversity conservation

  • Access to Nature Reduces Health Inequalities: An IEEP Briefing

    Improving access to nature can help address health and social challenges across Europe and reduce health inequalities.

  • Wildlife crime and the EU

    Wildlife crime threatens global biodiversity. The EU is both a destination and a transit region for illegally-traded products. A new study for the European Parliament summarises the situation in Europe and offers policy recommendations in view of the upcoming EU Action Plan. A set of in-depth case studies outline the situation in five EU countries.

  • Nature, Health and Jobs: IEEP at Green Week 2015

    Drawing on recent work by the Institute, IEEP’s Patrick ten Brink will present at Green Week 2015 on Jobs & Growth through Green Infrastructure (3 June 2015 - 16:30-18:00, Session 2.2) and on Health and Social Benefits of Nature and Biodiversity Protection (4 June 2015 - 09:30-11:00, Session 3.3).

  • Sectoral resource mobilisation to implement global biodiversity targets

    There is an urgent need to find sufficient resources to enable developing countries to implement the global targets for biodiversity by 2020. Financing the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity from different sectoral funding flows can complement global biodiversity financing.

Highlights