The conservation of biodiversity is a major environmental issue, one that promises to remain at or near the top of the environmental agenda for the foreseeable future. The loss of biodiversity affects human welfare as well as being lamentable for its own sake. Humans depend on natural systems to...

Since 1999, China has spent RMB 50 billion (about US$7 billion) to implement the "Grain for Green" programme, the largest land retirement programme in the developing world. From 1999 to 2003, over 7.2 million hectares of agricultural land were retired under the programme. However, many farmers...

Preface -- Introduction -- Four economic questions about climate change -- How much pollution is too much? -- Ethics and economics -- Pollution and resource degradation as externalities -- The efficiency standard -- Measuring the benefits of environmental protection -- Measuring the costs of...

"This ninth edition of Economics and the Environment is the third to include Dr. Stephen Polasky as a coauthor, who has brought to the text a reworked and stronger focus on natural resource economics and ecosystem services. This book was first published almost 30 years ago in 1992, as the Rio...