Nature in the balance : the economics of biodiversity This book sets out the building blocks of an economic approach to biodiversity and in particular brings together conceptual and empirical work on valuation international agreements the policy instruments and the institutions. The objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of the issues and evidence and to suggest how this very urgent problem should be addressed. This collection of high quality chapters addresses the economic issues involved in biodiversity protection. This book focuses on the economics but incorporates the underpinning science and philosophy combining the application of a number of theoretical ideas with a series of policy cases. The authors are drawn from leading scholars in their specific areas of economics philosophy and conservation biology. COVER