If the natural environment in Peru’s Amazonian region of San Martín were valued in dollars and cents, it would rank as the region’s eighth-largest economic sector—just behind the hotel and restaurant industry and fuel production, says a study conducted here recently. That’s why, from a development perspective, it seems all the more counterproductive that the ecosystem deemed most valuable, the humid montane forest, turns out to be the San Martín region’s most threatened. Thanks to the study, San Martín has joined a growing list of Latin American national and local governments quantifying the economic worth of ecosystem services—for instance, climate regulation provided by forests and fresh water supply and filtering lent by watersheds. Such initiatives go beyond the usual practice of only... [Log in to read more]