On January 11, NYU School of Law's Institute for Policy Integrity partnered with Conservation International to present the second session in the discussion series Conversations with Eco-Innovators. The newest talk, "Economics of International Biodiversity Preservation," focused on the economic value of wildlife and how biodiversity contributes to development. IPI Executive Director Michael Livermore '06 was joined by Olivier Langrand, executive vice president of Public Sector Engagement at Conservation International.
Livermore opened by providing background on how economic value is assigned to biodiversity through concepts like ecosystems services and existence value. Langrand gave examples of how ecosystems provide tremendous economic value by filtering water and pollinating plants and other natural processes—large contributions to a range of basic industries like agriculture. Langrand shared case studies in Madagascar and Costa Rica, which have shown how payments for ecosystem services help alleviate poverty and generate economic incentives for conservation.
Posted January 19, 2010
