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On Natural Capital: The Value of the World Around Us
What if we were to put a value on nature just as we value everything else?
For as long as they have existed, our economic models have served us an incomplete picture. The models and metrics tell us that our economies are healthy because they are growing. However, this doesn’t account for the fact that our growth is driven by a resource that we take for free and treat as nature. We know now, more than ever, that our demand on the natural world is unsustainable. It’s no longer sufficient to only see part of the picture; it’s time that our economic models show us the whole thing.
An urgent call from renowned Cambridge economist Sir Partha Dasgupta to transform the focus and structures of global economics, On Natural Capital is a bold and groundbreaking book that could, truly, change everything.
'the most important person you've never heard of' - The New York Times
'Partha Dasgupta provides the compass we urgently need… by bringing economics and ecology together, we can help save the natural world at what may be the last minute – and in doing so, save ourselves.’ - David Attenborough
For as long as they have existed, our economic models have served us an incomplete picture. The models and metrics tell us that our economies are healthy because they are growing. However, this doesn’t account for the fact that our growth is driven by a resource that we take for free and treat as nature. We know now, more than ever, that our demand on the natural world is unsustainable. It’s no longer sufficient to only see part of the picture; it’s time that our economic models show us the whole thing.
An urgent call from renowned Cambridge economist Sir Partha Dasgupta to transform the focus and structures of global economics, On Natural Capital is a bold and groundbreaking book that could, truly, change everything.
'the most important person you've never heard of' - The New York Times
'Partha Dasgupta provides the compass we urgently need… by bringing economics and ecology together, we can help save the natural world at what may be the last minute – and in doing so, save ourselves.’ - David Attenborough
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 24, 2025
33 people are currently reading
577 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 21, 2026
This is apparently a kind of pop-culture distillation (and updating) of the 2021 "The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review" commissioned by the UK government. I'll admit I dropped this book after finishing five of the ten chapters. By that point it had said almost nothing new or interesting, it was all scene setting, throat clearing, background information. Extraordinarily boring. Even if you don't know every single detail mentioned, surely almost anyone who picks up this book is going to be familiar with the broad ideas of ecosystems, biodiversity, anthropocene extinction, externalities.
And mixed in with those broad strokes are very long passages that...feel like padding?
Not only does this feel like an obvious thing to point out (who doesn't know that different things live different amounts of time?) it isn't clear how this ties to the promised theme of the book such that it needed an entire paragraph of explication.
This book is a case study in the need for a strong editor to tell an author: put your interesting & novel insights up first! Or at least interweave them! We live in an attention economy and you need to give readers something early on the keep them engaged!
Maybe the back half of the book takes a turn for the better. Having since skimmed the full report, and gone back and skimmed the latter half of the book, I have my doubts, though.
And mixed in with those broad strokes are very long passages that...feel like padding?
Nature’s beats differ vastly in their length. Bacteria can survive for an hour or more on surfaces, frogs live for ten to twelve years, mangrove trees for a hundred years, oak trees for as long as a thousand years, mushrooms live from between one and two days up to many years, and there are networks of fungi species that live up to a hundred or thousand years. The rhythms of even weakly connected oscillating objects can synchronise, such as linked pendula, singing crickets, and so on. Moreover, birth and death cycles can get locked in a population to form unique patterns. There are species of cicada that emerge synchronically every 17 years but live as adults for only 3–4 weeks.
Not only does this feel like an obvious thing to point out (who doesn't know that different things live different amounts of time?) it isn't clear how this ties to the promised theme of the book such that it needed an entire paragraph of explication.
This book is a case study in the need for a strong editor to tell an author: put your interesting & novel insights up first! Or at least interweave them! We live in an attention economy and you need to give readers something early on the keep them engaged!
Maybe the back half of the book takes a turn for the better. Having since skimmed the full report, and gone back and skimmed the latter half of the book, I have my doubts, though.
April 7, 2026
Quite disappointed in this book, given the significance and need for natural capital in climate-related economic research. Typically, something titled "On [Subject]" implies a deep exploration of relevant topics, promising reflective insights, but this felt more like an introduction to ecological economic methods and theories than anything else. Dasgputa spends more time going off into seemingly relevant tangents in between the sparse content regarding natural capital and valuation. It makes me wonder who the intended audience was, though Dasgupta is explicit about this in the introduction:
Yet I'm not even sure that someone unfamiliar with ecology, economics, or the intersection of the two would find this book useful. The last sentence of the quote echoes C. Thi Nguyen: "understanding is often the end of inquiry." While this message is valuable and repeated throughout the book, especially in relation to the role of ecosystems and natural resources in (macro)economic calculations (or lack thereof), Dasgupta is himself guilty of presenting many of his arguments as final. Two outstanding examples in this text (to me, anyways) are his views on Hardin's 'tragedy of the commons' - which had been contested by Elinor Ostrom in 2008 - and the practicalities of nudge theory - which continues to be contentious among behavioral science circles. The fact that he does not offer potential rebuttals seems contradictory to his earlier messaging. In fact, much of the language employed around the natural capital discussions is seemingly outdated, yet presented as new concepts. Dasgupta also contends that there is little research in academia devoted to natural capital, yet there is evidence that the literature has grown significantly in the last decade - even before the Dasgupta Review was published. I think I would still be interested in reading the original 2021 Dasgupta Review or its abridged version, but if this nothing burger was meant to be an 'airport book' version of it, I can't say my hopes are high.
I imagine [the reader] to be someone not so much interested in the Review as in wanting to know how to structure her thinking about problems that worry her. She is a concerned citizen. She wants to understand how it can be that even with the best of intentions individual choices can (and do) lead to outcomes that are worse for everyone than they could have been. She is dissatisfied with the answer she hears often; that it has all to do with ‘externalities’ – the unaccounted consequences for others of one’s actions – because she feels that giving a label to a phenomenon should be the conclusion of an explanation, not its beginning.
Yet I'm not even sure that someone unfamiliar with ecology, economics, or the intersection of the two would find this book useful. The last sentence of the quote echoes C. Thi Nguyen: "understanding is often the end of inquiry." While this message is valuable and repeated throughout the book, especially in relation to the role of ecosystems and natural resources in (macro)economic calculations (or lack thereof), Dasgupta is himself guilty of presenting many of his arguments as final. Two outstanding examples in this text (to me, anyways) are his views on Hardin's 'tragedy of the commons' - which had been contested by Elinor Ostrom in 2008 - and the practicalities of nudge theory - which continues to be contentious among behavioral science circles. The fact that he does not offer potential rebuttals seems contradictory to his earlier messaging. In fact, much of the language employed around the natural capital discussions is seemingly outdated, yet presented as new concepts. Dasgupta also contends that there is little research in academia devoted to natural capital, yet there is evidence that the literature has grown significantly in the last decade - even before the Dasgupta Review was published. I think I would still be interested in reading the original 2021 Dasgupta Review or its abridged version, but if this nothing burger was meant to be an 'airport book' version of it, I can't say my hopes are high.
August 23, 2025
I read through this extraordinary book twice! Crisp, well-reasoned, powerful prose from a distinguished scholar brings a fairly complex topic - the role of natural resources as a form of capital - to a broader audience.
The terrible reality is that, despite the compelling truth that the destruction of ecosystems carries enormous dangers, few in positions of power and influence think about the threat and even fewer are prepared to act.
Read this book!!
The terrible reality is that, despite the compelling truth that the destruction of ecosystems carries enormous dangers, few in positions of power and influence think about the threat and even fewer are prepared to act.
Read this book!!
August 31, 2025
Dasgupta argues that traditional economics overlooks nature as a form of capital. While GDP counts everything we produce, it ignores the depletion of natural assets like forests, clean air, water, and biodiversity—assets that are foundational to human well-being. This oversight makes economic growth appear stronger than it truly is.
Key Idea:
The “Inclusive Wealth” Paradigm
The book builds on concepts from his earlier Dasgupta Review (2021), which introduced the idea of “inclusive wealth”—a measure that sums produced capital, human capital, and natural capital—to assess sustainable prosperity, instead of solely focusing on GDP growth.
worldeconomicsassociation.org
Using tangible examples, Dasgupta illustrates the plight of economic misaccounting: for example, clearing a forest to build a shopping mall raises GDP, but GDP fails to deduct the loss of ecosystem services like carbon absorption, soil protection, and recreation.
Estimates show that between 1992–2014, produced capital per capita more than doubled, while natural capital per capita declined by about 40%.
Similarly, humanity currently uses natural resources at a rate requiring about 1.6 Earths—a clearly unsustainable pathway.
Recommendations for Change
1. Balance Demand and Supply of Nature
Ensure that societal demands don’t exceed the regenerative capacity of ecosystems. Policies could include expanding protected areas, encouraging sustainable diets, investing in nature-based solutions, and reducing ecologically harmful consumption.
2. Revamp Economic Metrics
Stop relying on GDP as the dominant measure of progress. Instead, adopt accounting systems that factor in natural capital—like inclusive wealth—to reflect true intergenerational sustainability.
worldeconomicsassociation.org
3. Reform Institutions
Transform financial systems, policymaking, and education to support nature-positive choices. This includes: Redirecting subsidies away from environmentally harmful activities. Creating payments or charges for global natural commons (e.g., fishing in the high seas, forest protection).Elevating nature in education to cultivate ecological sensibilities from a young age.
Key Idea:
The “Inclusive Wealth” Paradigm
The book builds on concepts from his earlier Dasgupta Review (2021), which introduced the idea of “inclusive wealth”—a measure that sums produced capital, human capital, and natural capital—to assess sustainable prosperity, instead of solely focusing on GDP growth.
worldeconomicsassociation.org
Using tangible examples, Dasgupta illustrates the plight of economic misaccounting: for example, clearing a forest to build a shopping mall raises GDP, but GDP fails to deduct the loss of ecosystem services like carbon absorption, soil protection, and recreation.
Estimates show that between 1992–2014, produced capital per capita more than doubled, while natural capital per capita declined by about 40%.
Similarly, humanity currently uses natural resources at a rate requiring about 1.6 Earths—a clearly unsustainable pathway.
Recommendations for Change
1. Balance Demand and Supply of Nature
Ensure that societal demands don’t exceed the regenerative capacity of ecosystems. Policies could include expanding protected areas, encouraging sustainable diets, investing in nature-based solutions, and reducing ecologically harmful consumption.
2. Revamp Economic Metrics
Stop relying on GDP as the dominant measure of progress. Instead, adopt accounting systems that factor in natural capital—like inclusive wealth—to reflect true intergenerational sustainability.
worldeconomicsassociation.org
3. Reform Institutions
Transform financial systems, policymaking, and education to support nature-positive choices. This includes: Redirecting subsidies away from environmentally harmful activities. Creating payments or charges for global natural commons (e.g., fishing in the high seas, forest protection).Elevating nature in education to cultivate ecological sensibilities from a young age.
October 22, 2025
‘On Natural Capital’ is a distillation of a report made by the author, economist Sir Partha Dasgupta, to the British government in 2021. As such, it dispenses with much of the minutiae. However, it is not dumbed down, as Dasgupta employs enough specificity and technicality to signal both the complexity of the topic and what he contends is the urgency of the moment we face with regards to our overuse of the biosphere’s finite resources. His case is therefore couched mostly in dry terms, although at the end he drills deeper than arguments rooted in utility function and resource management. Yet, for all that, this book still feels a little too ‘gutted’. I wonder if it may be a missed opportunity to speak to a broader public in a calm and humane way that unpacks our attitude towards (and our existential entanglement in) the natural world without the distractions of culture war tantrums and moralising hyperbole.
February 15, 2026
Im Auftrag des Finanzministeriums des Vereinigten Königreichs hat der Autor einen langen Report über den Wert der Natur geschrieben ("The Economics of Biodiversity") und nun zu einem 200-seitigen Buch verkürzt.
Sehr gut zu lesen und von der richtigen Stelle in Auftrag gegeben - hoffen wir mal, dass das Denken im Allgemeinen und entsprechende Pigouvian Taxes im Speziellen dann auch umgesetzt werden. Für mich das einzig komplette Buch über den Wert von Biodiversität.
Kapitel 1: Natur als Wert
1. Bereitstellung von Gütern (direkt)
2. Wartungs- und Regulierungsdienste (indirekt)
3. Kulturelle Dienste (hier weniger wichtig)
Kapitel 2:
"Biodiversity increases an ecosystem's resilience to shocks, and reduces risks to the goods and services it produces." (S. 44) Hierbei geht es nicht um einen Headcount sondern je mehr funktionelle Diversität, desto besser.
Kapitel 3:
Bevölkerungswachstum und Wachstum des ökologischen Fussabdrucks pro Person haben bereits dazu geführt, dass die Nachfrage nach Gütern und Diensten von der Natur deren Möglichkeit zum nachhaltigen Angebot übersteigt.
Kapitel 4:
Da weder ein Szenario quantifizierbar ist, in dem eine gewisse Biodiversität nicht mehr gegeben ist, noch der Tipping Point, wann es unwiderruflich zu diesem Verfall kommt, klar auszumachen ist, hat der Erhalt von Biodiversität einen "Option value" (S. 77).
Je fragmentierter ein Ökosystem, desto fragiler wird es. (S. 79) Erstens, weil Austausch von Populationen untereinander weniger gut möglich ist, und zweitens, weil die Wahrscheinlichkeit externer Schocks steigt, je grösser die Grenze eines Schutzgebiets zur Aussenwelt ist ("edge effect", S. 80).
Inhaltliche Herleitung der mathematischen Formel, dass die Regenerationsrate der Natur mindestens so gross wie die Nachfrage sein muss.
Kapitel 5:
Tragedy of the Commons: Nachfrage nach Ökosystemleistungen zu hoch, obwohl jede Einzelperson am Wohlergehen der eigenen Nachkommen interessiert ist.
Kapitel 6:
Um die Nachfrage in Zukunft geringer zu halten, müsste das Bevölkerungswachstum gebremst werden und/oder das GDP per capita.
Kapitel 7:
Vorstellung der Pigouvian tax/subsidy.
Kapitel 8:
Vorschlag zur Kenngrösse des GDP eine Art Bilanz hinzuzufügen, um Aufbau/Erhalt/Verlust von Werten (z.B. Human capital, natural capital) zu messen.
Ein sehr interessanter Exkurs zum Nutzwert am Beispiel einer Shrimp-Farm in Vietnam: Negative Folgen für das Ökosystem sind zwar im Nutzwert aber nicht im Buchwert (also Verkaufspreis) enthalten. Die Differenz müssten eigentlich Steuern in ebendieser Höhe ausmachen, die wiederum für die Wiederherstellung oder anderweitige Bereitstellung des Ökosystemwerts sorgen. Da entsprechende Rechnungen nicht angestellt und Steuern nicht erhoben werden, fällt also eine Wohlstandsverschiebung vom relativ armen Vietnam in das relativ reiche Importland dieser Shrimps statt.
Kapitel 9:
"[…] policies should be directed at lowering future global population and global per capita GDP, reducing the quantity of provisioning foods that the global economy draws on to produce GDP, and raising the biosphere's combined regeneration rates." (S. 187)
Kapitel 10:
Ökosystemerhalt als eine Frage der politischen Ethik, nicht nur Moral.
Sehr gut zu lesen und von der richtigen Stelle in Auftrag gegeben - hoffen wir mal, dass das Denken im Allgemeinen und entsprechende Pigouvian Taxes im Speziellen dann auch umgesetzt werden. Für mich das einzig komplette Buch über den Wert von Biodiversität.
Kapitel 1: Natur als Wert
1. Bereitstellung von Gütern (direkt)
2. Wartungs- und Regulierungsdienste (indirekt)
3. Kulturelle Dienste (hier weniger wichtig)
Kapitel 2:
"Biodiversity increases an ecosystem's resilience to shocks, and reduces risks to the goods and services it produces." (S. 44) Hierbei geht es nicht um einen Headcount sondern je mehr funktionelle Diversität, desto besser.
Kapitel 3:
Bevölkerungswachstum und Wachstum des ökologischen Fussabdrucks pro Person haben bereits dazu geführt, dass die Nachfrage nach Gütern und Diensten von der Natur deren Möglichkeit zum nachhaltigen Angebot übersteigt.
Kapitel 4:
Da weder ein Szenario quantifizierbar ist, in dem eine gewisse Biodiversität nicht mehr gegeben ist, noch der Tipping Point, wann es unwiderruflich zu diesem Verfall kommt, klar auszumachen ist, hat der Erhalt von Biodiversität einen "Option value" (S. 77).
Je fragmentierter ein Ökosystem, desto fragiler wird es. (S. 79) Erstens, weil Austausch von Populationen untereinander weniger gut möglich ist, und zweitens, weil die Wahrscheinlichkeit externer Schocks steigt, je grösser die Grenze eines Schutzgebiets zur Aussenwelt ist ("edge effect", S. 80).
Inhaltliche Herleitung der mathematischen Formel, dass die Regenerationsrate der Natur mindestens so gross wie die Nachfrage sein muss.
Kapitel 5:
Tragedy of the Commons: Nachfrage nach Ökosystemleistungen zu hoch, obwohl jede Einzelperson am Wohlergehen der eigenen Nachkommen interessiert ist.
Kapitel 6:
Um die Nachfrage in Zukunft geringer zu halten, müsste das Bevölkerungswachstum gebremst werden und/oder das GDP per capita.
Kapitel 7:
Vorstellung der Pigouvian tax/subsidy.
Kapitel 8:
Vorschlag zur Kenngrösse des GDP eine Art Bilanz hinzuzufügen, um Aufbau/Erhalt/Verlust von Werten (z.B. Human capital, natural capital) zu messen.
Ein sehr interessanter Exkurs zum Nutzwert am Beispiel einer Shrimp-Farm in Vietnam: Negative Folgen für das Ökosystem sind zwar im Nutzwert aber nicht im Buchwert (also Verkaufspreis) enthalten. Die Differenz müssten eigentlich Steuern in ebendieser Höhe ausmachen, die wiederum für die Wiederherstellung oder anderweitige Bereitstellung des Ökosystemwerts sorgen. Da entsprechende Rechnungen nicht angestellt und Steuern nicht erhoben werden, fällt also eine Wohlstandsverschiebung vom relativ armen Vietnam in das relativ reiche Importland dieser Shrimps statt.
Kapitel 9:
"[…] policies should be directed at lowering future global population and global per capita GDP, reducing the quantity of provisioning foods that the global economy draws on to produce GDP, and raising the biosphere's combined regeneration rates." (S. 187)
Kapitel 10:
Ökosystemerhalt als eine Frage der politischen Ethik, nicht nur Moral.
February 7, 2026
I think this book is more important than a 4 star rating, and I think that everyone with any sort of pull or interest in public policy should read this book, but I wish this book packed a little more of a punch.
The first half is basic ecology review - it wasn't new information for me, but maybe if it was for someone that'd increase the impact of this book.
The second half focuses more on our impact on the biosphere through the lens of GDP and material extraction. Maybe I'm more informed than I thought I was, but his message is still incredibly important - right now we are not paying the full cost of goods. If we want to protect the environment and ensure that the future can be healthy, we need to add the cost of extraction and environmental degradation into our calculus.
Importantly he doesn't shy away from the fact that we don't want to reduce the standard of living for everyone - in fact, the standard of living around the world has increased dramatically in the last 50 years, and there is no reason that we should not push that further. I'm not entirely against the idea of "degrowth" (though that requires more understanding by me) but the government certainly has the power and the duty to work for the betterment of our futures.
A quick read, which makes it all the more powerful, this should be considered essential reading.
The first half is basic ecology review - it wasn't new information for me, but maybe if it was for someone that'd increase the impact of this book.
The second half focuses more on our impact on the biosphere through the lens of GDP and material extraction. Maybe I'm more informed than I thought I was, but his message is still incredibly important - right now we are not paying the full cost of goods. If we want to protect the environment and ensure that the future can be healthy, we need to add the cost of extraction and environmental degradation into our calculus.
Importantly he doesn't shy away from the fact that we don't want to reduce the standard of living for everyone - in fact, the standard of living around the world has increased dramatically in the last 50 years, and there is no reason that we should not push that further. I'm not entirely against the idea of "degrowth" (though that requires more understanding by me) but the government certainly has the power and the duty to work for the betterment of our futures.
A quick read, which makes it all the more powerful, this should be considered essential reading.
April 28, 2026
Extremely well-written, so much so that it reads as easily as a high school textbook on some very useful, if intuitive and largely obvious, correlations.. Could have been a bit heavier on the mathematics that this was all based on, but that's being picky. For a layperson, this would be an excellent text.
Thank you Mariner for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. These opinions are my own.
Thank you Mariner for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. These opinions are my own.
February 24, 2026
I am glad this conversation is being commissioned and this book with its questions are being asked. I was disappointed with the lack of courageous solutions. I do like his analysis on why folks are locked into their non changing ways.
April 21, 2026
This felt highly over complicated and there seemed to be so many tangents that if I don’t have prior knowledge on the topic, I’d be completely lost.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews