Study shows that deforestation in the world can cost up to US$ 5 tri per year

According to the study The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), conducted by the European Commission and by Germany, the cost of deforestation worldwide has been estimated at US$ 2 trillion and US$ 5 trillion per year. On the other hand, the amount invested in biodiversity protection in the same period reaches US$ 10 billion. The amount necessary for proper conservation of natural resources around the globe is fourfold.

Launched in response to a proposal made by the ministers of the G8 +5 group (South Africa, Brazil, China, India and Mexico), TEEB is an international initiative formulated to develop a comprehensive study on the economics of the biodiversity loss. Its objectives are to promote the advancement of practical actions, to highlight the cost of degradation of ecosystems and biodiversity benefits, to disseminate information and to draw the attention of various countries on the issue.

Led by the Deutsche Bank economist Pavan Sukhdev, the study has the participation of an advisory committee composed of experts from the fields of science, politics and economics. In a recent visit to Brazil, Sukhdev said that TEEB is already in its second phase and is being promoted by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) with support from the European Commission and the Ministries of Environment of Germany and of the United Kingdom.

The economist suggested the possibility of Brazil preparing a study on the characteristics and conditions of the country, by taking account of the value of biodiversity in Brazil, following the same methodology of the worldwide evaluation.

The secretary of Biodiversity and Forests of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA), Maria Cecilia Wey de Brito, said that the Federal Government aims to make a version of the study, focusing specifically in Brazil, which would be developed by the MMA in partnership with the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea). "The initiative is important because we are an extremely diverse country, and we have not given due respect to this natural heritage. The maintenance of biodiversity, rather than a cost, is a benefit", says Cecilia. She explains that, in large part, the economic activities that are promoting the growth of Brazil are based on the attributes of biodiversity.

The first TEEB report was launched in May 2008 and provided evidence of significant local and global economic losses, as well as the evidence of the impacts on human well-being that can be attributed to the progressive loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems. The report, largely, focused on forests. The second phase of the study seeks to expand the work begun in the first one, and it will be completed in 2010 to be presented in Nagoya (Japan) during the 10th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-10).