Putting a Price on Nature

Norway has developed an index which attempts to put a value on "services" that nature provides such as pollination or forest growth. The Nature Index uses 309 indicators such as forest health, ocean wellness, and fish stock numbers to produce a score. This score would  provide some sort of report card on how healthy nature is in Norway.   The Norwegians believe this could be the first step towards putting an economic value on nature and including those values in  a nations GDP. This would be a radical departure from normal economic practice. Already the destruction of wetlands worldwide  has been given a global valuation of over $2 to $4.5 trillion dollars. If those type of numbers were added to GDP perhaps local natural habitats would be more valued in a monetary sense, providing an economic impetus not to destroy them but to preserve them.  What if we started treating nature as something that had an economic value? Would this enable us to conserve more of it?  Should we put a price on nature? If you would like to read more about Norway's index and this interesting idea please go to http://www.http//www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/norway-puts-a-value-on-nature/article1766645/