“Nature provides innumerable services that underpin food security, human well-being and indeed, the global economy” says the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), recognizing biodiversity has intrinsic and cultural values beyond economics.
The UNEP-WCMC has recently supported the elaboration of the global map of natural capital, which includes assets such as freshwater resources, soil quality, organic carbon, terrestrial and marine biodiversity, and global fish catch (as a proxy for marine fish stocks). The report builds on a considerable body of work in the fields of natural capital accounting and the mapping of ecosystem services.
