The latest report of the TEEB study was released on Friday, 13 November. ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for National and International Policy Makers 2009′ follows the TEEB Interim Report, released in May 2008. The next releases; ‘TEEB for Local Administrators’ and ‘TEEB for Business’ reports, will be released in summer 2010, whilst the final TEEB synthesis report will be published in time for the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in autumn next year.

The latest document is intended to highlight the relevance of the TEEB study to mainstream policy-making, providing evidence to support a strong case for policy action; concrete examples of ways to make policies work (from removing subsidies to payments for ecosystem services) and practical guidance for managing the transition during policy reform.

TEEB is built around the central point that the lack of market prices for ecosystem services and biodiversity means that the public benefits we derive from these goods are usually neglected or under-valued in decision-making. By failing to account for the value of ecosystems and biodiversity we will make the wrong choices in responding to the global challenges of climate change, food, water and energy security. Making the benefits of biodiversity and ecosystem services visible to economies and society is necessary to pave the way for more efficient policy responses.

Download the full report and the executive summary.

Access the TEEB website.