Conservation

Economics, Science, and Policy

By: Charles Perrings, Ann Kinzig

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

The conservation of natural resources, like that of any other asset, involves trade-offs. Yet, in a world faced with the harsh realities of climate change, crafting the right environmental policies is an increasingly urgent task. In Conservation, Charles Perrings and Ann Kinzig bring together new research in economics and biodiversity to investigate conservation decisions and the theory behind them.

Perrings and Kinzig apply the concept of conservation broadly to examine how the principles of conservation apply to the management of the natural world. They demonstrate that the same basic principles serve as the foundation of all rational conservation decisions, from managing financial assets to safeguarding at-risk ecosystems. Whether someone is deciding to hold or dispose of a stock or whether to exploit or preserve a natural resource, they are better off choosing to conserve a resource when its value to them, if conserved, is greater than its value when converted. Building on their basic theory of conservation, Perrings and Kinzig address key issues in the field of environmental economics, including the valuation of ecosystem services and environmental assets; the limits on the substitutability of produced and natural capital; and the challenges posed by the often weak markets for ecosystem services oriented toward the public good.

©2021 Oxford University Press (P)2021 Tantor

A good read.

An interesting book that details conservation in practical, if not scientific terms. I found the book somewhat difficult to get through, as it seems that, through most of the book, one must have a background in science.

Nonetheless, the book is a good read.

Great textbook on conservation

I’m a graduate student of environmental science looking to break into the conservation industry, and this book was extremely helpful in giving me the broad strokes of how the conservation industry operates on the economic, political, and social levels. It is quite math-heavy in many sections, but that is balanced out by its great summary/conclusion sections.

I wish I had a hard copy to keep, but I’m glad I was able to listen to it before it left the Audible collection. The voice is consistent and clear throughout the playback and made it easy to focus on the content. I recommend this book as a great primer to the economics/policy side of the conservation industry.