Economic Thoughts in Mainstreaming Biodiversity

The composition between the global ecosystem/biodiversity and the economic system has been changing drastically with respect to population and economic growth. Unscientific economic growth without adequate precautions for safeguarding biodiversity has far-reaching consequences. Biodiversity loss is an external/social cost, since it hampers economy and the livelihood of people. The external issues and the need for their internalization have been widely discussed by environmental economists, which is the base for mainstreaming them. Rapid economic growth is imperative for a developing country like India. However, the preservation of natural resources like biodiversity, on which millions of people depend, is equally important to ensure that growth is more inclusive and sustainable. It is vital that every nation should preserve its biodiversity and the health of diverse ecosystems for global harmony, where mainstreaming the biodiversity concerns in various developmental programs is inevitable. Even if mainstreaming is an ideal approach for sustainable development, its practicability and success are dependent factors and a huge challenge, particularly for developing countries. More awareness generation, scientific information which establishes the linkages of biodiversity with developmental sectors, multi-stakeholders’ co-operation, financial support, and incentive measures can facilitate biodiversity mainstreaming. Valuation of the biodiversity goods and services and damage costs is significant. Through valuation, one can easily convey the overall importance of biodiversity as well as the damage costs, due to haphazard economic growth, to the public and the policy makers, who are the key actors in mainstreaming biodiversity.

Keywords: Cost of Inaction, Economic Valuation, Internalization of Externalities, Mainstreaming Biodiversity, Sustainable Development.