Green Growth That Works

Rapid economic development has been a boon to human well-being. It has lifted millions out of poverty, raised standards of living, and increased life expectancies. But economic development comes at a significant cost to natural capital—the fertile soils, forests, coastal marshes, farmland—that support all life on earth, including our own. The dilemma of our times is to figure out how to improve the human condition without destroying nature’s. If ecosystems collapse, so eventually will human civilization. One answer is inclusive green growth—the efficient use of natural resources. Inclusive green growth minimizes pollution and strengthens communities against natural disasters while reducing poverty through improved access to health, education, and services. Its genius lies in working with nature rather than against it.

Green Growth That Works is the first practical guide to bring together pragmatic finance and policy tools that can make investment in natural capital both attractive and commonplace. The authors present six mechanisms that demonstrate a range of approaches used around the globe to conserve and restore earth’s myriad ecosystems, including:

• Government subsidies
• Regulatory-driven mitigation
• Voluntary conservation
• Water funds
• Market-based transactions
• Bilateral and multilateral payments

Lisa Mandle is a Lead Scientist at the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University. Mandle has worked with governments, multi-lateral development banks, and nongovernmental organizations to incorporate this understanding into development decisions, particularly in Latin America and Asia. She has also led trainings around the world on natural capital-based approaches and tools for decision-making.
 
Zhiyun Ouyang is professor and director of Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He leads unparalleled efforts to bring understanding of the earth system to bear on crucial societal issues of extreme poverty and environmental degradation research in a wide range of areas. He serves as the president of Ecological Society of China, and the board member of International Association of Ecology. He has won three national Science and Technology Achievement awards of China.
 
James Salzman is the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at UCLA Law School and the UC Santa Barbara, School of Environment. Salzman’s research ranges from drinking water and policy instrument design to conservation and trade conflicts. Author of over 90 articles and 10 books, his publications have been downloaded over 100,000 times.
 
Gretchen C. Daily is Bing Professor of Environmental Science at Stanford University, where she also serves as Senior Fellow in the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment; Director of the Center for Conservation Biology; and cofounder and faculty director of the Natural Capital Project, a global partnership driving innovation to value nature explicitly and systematically in policy, finance and management. She is a fellow of the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.