World Bank calls on countries to take urgent steps to protect 'natural capital' [View all]

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/09/world-bank-urgent-natural-capital?intcmp=122



Archerfish in a forest of mangroves, in the centre of the world's richest marine biodiversity, the Raja Ampat islands, Indonesia. The World Bank has called on countries to protect their natural capital. Photograph: Norbert Wu/Corbis



Countries must take urgent steps to value their natural capital – such as forests, peatlands and coastal areas – as part of their economic development, the World Bank has urged.

Placing a monetary value on natural ecosystems is a key step on the road to "green" economic growth, according to the World Bank, which published a report on green growth on Wednesday at a conference in Seoul, Korea.

By making such estimates, countries can develop policies that ensure the pursuit of economic growth does not occur at the expense of future growth potential, by destroying natural assets such as water sources or polluting air, rivers and soil.

Rachel Kyte, vice president for sustainable development at the bank, said that the patterns on which economic growth had been achieved in recent decades were unsustainable, because of the amount of environmental degradation involved.