What value on nature? Countries now have 1st guidelines

BERLIN (AP) — Officials said Monday that countries have approved the first comprehensive guidelines for judging the value of nature following four years of intense debate. The report was endorsed by 139 countries that are members of the United Nations-backed Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Its authors hope the guide they’ve drawn up with the help of experts from a wide range of disciplines will make it easier for governments to consider more than just the economic benefits of a project when deciding whether and how to go ahead with it. The report was drafted with the help of dozens of experts from both social and natural sciences in an attempt to bridge the often considerable differences between disciplines.