Natural capital

Capital has often been thought of narrowly as physical capital – the machines, tools, and equipment used in the production of other goods, but our wealth and well being also 1 on natural capital. If we forget this, we risk 2 the services that natural ecosystems provide, which 3 our economies and sustain our lives. These services include purifying our water, 4 our climate, reducing flood risk, and pollinating our crops. The Natural Capital Project — a partnership among WWF, The Nature Conservancy, University of Minnesota and Stanford University — works to provide decision makers with 5 ways to assess the true value of the services that ecosystems provide. An 6 element of the Natural Capital Project is developing tools that help decision makers protect biodiversity and ecosystem services.