426
X. Zhang
3. Natural capital holds the key to turning “lucid waters and lush mountains”
into “valuable assets”
Plenty of meaningful practices of various forms have been carried out to make “valuable assets” out of “lucid waters and lush mountains.” In doing so, a fundamental,
inevitable question is how to turn natural resources into natural assets and then to
natural capital—that’s a cutting-edge focus of international studies and explorations
too.
The traditional mode of human development has generated enormous ecological
debts, so ecological restoration is a crucial task as we work toward green transformation and development now. Yet it would be extremely costly to make up for past
ecological damages, much less to recover the entire ecological system on earth, which
would require an astronomical amount of capital and resources. If natural resources
cannot be translated into natural capital, our ecological efforts would be of little avail
no matter how hard we try.
The vision of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is “a just
world that values and conserves nature and natural resources.” This stresses the
endowment of values upon nature and natural resources. We used to think that nature
doesn’t have a price, but it does; what’s difficult is how to price it. For a long time
in history, the intake of natural resources by agricultural and nomadic civilizations
was well within the natural limit, so man and nature could co-exist in peace. But
when it came to commercial civilization, the wealth created by industrial revolution
was unprecedented, so were the plunder of natural resources and the environmental
price paid for it. We are carrying a huge natural resource debt, so much so that
the ecological bank has almost reached the edge of bankruptcy due to the deficit
of environmental and natural resources, and the regulatory capabilities of earth’s
four ecological systems, be it the land or the sea, is approaching an inflection point.
Putting a value on natural resources is a strategic and basic step to turn the tide,
which, however, isn’t easy as we must tackle several major difficulties, namely the
measurement, accounting and trading of ecological capital. There are several points
to be considered regarding the accounting of natural capital, such as designating a
specific, common unit for different types of natural capital, collecting and calculating data with the help of Internet, IoT and big data technologies to determine the
ownership of natural capital, and delimiting an area where the natural capital can be
priced and traded in the market. On that basis, natural capital, like material capital,
can participate in all kinds of economic activities in market economy.
Developing calculating rules that conform to economic laws can fundamentally
clear the way for implementing the strategy to turn lucid waters and lush mountains
into invaluable assets.
4. An assessment system for green development shall be established based
on natural and ecological endowments and national land use plans and
strategies
As the leading force of new productive forces, ecological civilization needs its own
assessment system. In industrial civilization, GDP and a string of related standards
X. Zhang
3. Natural capital holds the key to turning “lucid waters and lush mountains”
into “valuable assets”
Plenty of meaningful practices of various forms have been carried out to make “valuable assets” out of “lucid waters and lush mountains.” In doing so, a fundamental,
inevitable question is how to turn natural resources into natural assets and then to
natural capital—that’s a cutting-edge focus of international studies and explorations
too.
The traditional mode of human development has generated enormous ecological
debts, so ecological restoration is a crucial task as we work toward green transformation and development now. Yet it would be extremely costly to make up for past
ecological damages, much less to recover the entire ecological system on earth, which
would require an astronomical amount of capital and resources. If natural resources
cannot be translated into natural capital, our ecological efforts would be of little avail
no matter how hard we try.
The vision of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is “a just
world that values and conserves nature and natural resources.” This stresses the
endowment of values upon nature and natural resources. We used to think that nature
doesn’t have a price, but it does; what’s difficult is how to price it. For a long time
in history, the intake of natural resources by agricultural and nomadic civilizations
was well within the natural limit, so man and nature could co-exist in peace. But
when it came to commercial civilization, the wealth created by industrial revolution
was unprecedented, so were the plunder of natural resources and the environmental
price paid for it. We are carrying a huge natural resource debt, so much so that
the ecological bank has almost reached the edge of bankruptcy due to the deficit
of environmental and natural resources, and the regulatory capabilities of earth’s
four ecological systems, be it the land or the sea, is approaching an inflection point.
Putting a value on natural resources is a strategic and basic step to turn the tide,
which, however, isn’t easy as we must tackle several major difficulties, namely the
measurement, accounting and trading of ecological capital. There are several points
to be considered regarding the accounting of natural capital, such as designating a
specific, common unit for different types of natural capital, collecting and calculating data with the help of Internet, IoT and big data technologies to determine the
ownership of natural capital, and delimiting an area where the natural capital can be
priced and traded in the market. On that basis, natural capital, like material capital,
can participate in all kinds of economic activities in market economy.
Developing calculating rules that conform to economic laws can fundamentally
clear the way for implementing the strategy to turn lucid waters and lush mountains
into invaluable assets.
4. An assessment system for green development shall be established based
on natural and ecological endowments and national land use plans and
strategies
As the leading force of new productive forces, ecological civilization needs its own
assessment system. In industrial civilization, GDP and a string of related standards