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On Natural Capital: The Value of the World Around Us
'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
'This is the best book in economics for a general reader since Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.' - Paul R Ehrlich
‘Imagine a football team which measures its success only on the basis of the goals it scores and doesn’t count the goals it concedes. That football team could be losing right through without recognising it…’
For as long as they have existed, our economic models have served us an incomplete picture.
The models and metrics tells 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. For centuries we have been using it as if it were both, but 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.
In On Natural Capital, renowned Cambridge economist Sir Partha Dasgupta lays out a seminal and groundbreaking new approach to economics. Challenging everything that has come before, he asks, what if we were to put a value on nature just as we value everything else?
An urgent call to transform the focus and structures of global economics, On Natural Capital is a bold and groundbreaking book that could, truly, change everything.
'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
'This is the best book in economics for a general reader since Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.' - Paul R Ehrlich
‘Imagine a football team which measures its success only on the basis of the goals it scores and doesn’t count the goals it concedes. That football team could be losing right through without recognising it…’
For as long as they have existed, our economic models have served us an incomplete picture.
The models and metrics tells 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. For centuries we have been using it as if it were both, but 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.
In On Natural Capital, renowned Cambridge economist Sir Partha Dasgupta lays out a seminal and groundbreaking new approach to economics. Challenging everything that has come before, he asks, what if we were to put a value on nature just as we value everything else?
An urgent call to transform the focus and structures of global economics, On Natural Capital is a bold and groundbreaking book that could, truly, change everything.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 24, 2025
22 people are currently reading
391 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews