The book reports key findings of a research programme in which economists and ecologists considered the consequences of biodiversity loss. While immediate causes of biodiversity loss lie in habitat destruction and harvesting, the underlying causes are incentives which encourage resource users to ignore the effects of their actions.

Introduction: Framing the problem of biodiversity loss C. Perrings, K.-G. Maler, C. Folke, C. S. Holling and B. O. Jansson; Part I. Conceptualising Diversity and Ecosystem Functions: 1.1. Diversity functions M.Weitzman; 1.2. Biodiversity in the functioning of ecosystems C. S. Holling, D. W. Schindler, B. W. Walker and J. Roughgarden; 1.3. Scale and biodiversity in coastal and estuarine ecosystems R. Constanza, M. Kemp and W. Boynton; Part II. Integrating Ecology and Economics in the Analysis of Biodiversity Loss: 2.1. Wetland valuation: three case studies R. K. Turner, C. Folke, I. M. Gren and I. Bateman; 2.2. An ecological economy: notes on harvest and growth G. Brown and J. Roughgarden; 2.3. Biodiversity loss and the economics of discontinuous change in semi-arid rangelands C. Perrings and B. W. Walker; Part III. The Economic Issues: 3.1. Economic growth and the environment K.-G. Maler; 3.2. The international regulation of biodiversity decline T. Swanson; 3.3. Policies to control tropical deforestation E. B. Barbier and M. Rauscher; 3.4. On biodiversity conservation S. Barrett; Part IV. Conclusions: 4.1. Unanswered questions C. Perrings, K.-G. Maler, C. Folke, C. S. Holling and B. O. Jansson; References.

"[The chapters] are solid contributions to the literature. They illuminate many of the core questions of biodiversity and its conservation. They have much to say to conservation biologists, resource economists, environmental strategists, and those concerned with the role of biodiversity in national land-use planning....would make excellent assignments for graduate classes." Norman Myers, BioScience