Establishing the links between economic development and the restoration of natural capital

We reviewed 1575 peer-reviewed papers on restoration published from January 2000 to September 2008 in 13 scientific journals to assess whether they considered the economic and policy implications of their research, and referred to the concept of, or emerging markets for, payments for ecosystem goods and services. Only 8% (125 papers) of the 1575 papers reviewed referred to the establishment of markets and/or payment for ecosystem services or surrogates. The findings suggest that the linkages between natural capital and ecosystem services are not being made and thus the benefits of restoration are not being integrated into development planning. Better communication of the socio-economic and political benefits of restoration will be required if restoration is to be advanced.