The cause of environmental degradation is a failure to value the environment

The meaning of value

derived from the Latin "valere" to be strong or worthy

Oxford English dictionary:

"That amount of some commodity, medium of exchange, etc., which is considered to be an equivalent for something else; a fair or adequate equivalent or return"

Economists often argue that environmental degradation has resulted from the failure both of the market system and the systems of accounts discussed in the previous section to put any value on the environment, even though the environ-

ment does serve economic functions and does provide economic and other benefits. They argue that environmental assets, because they are free or underpriced, tend to be overused or abused, thereby resulting in environmental damage. Because they are not owned, and do not have price tags, there is no incentive to protect them. This is a view shared by business people. The Business Council of Australia argues that it is not economic growth that is the real problem:

"Rather, it is that important environmental assets tend not to be priced in a market like other assets. These assets are common property; they belong to everybody, and to nobody. Without ownership rights there is not the incentive for any person or group to look after them properly … if the environment has a zero price to users it will eventually be used up" (1991, p. 9).

It goes on to say

"It is in totalitarian societies like those of Eastern Europe and China where market signals and community concerns are either absent or not allowed to modify community behaviour that the problems of industrial pollution are most severe" ( p. 15).

For economists, proper valuation of the environment is a major feature of sustainable development. According to Waring (1988, p. 17), valuation has a very particular meaning to economists. The word 'value' is derived from the Latin valere, meaning 'to be strong or worthy', and has a moral dimension. However, economists use the word 'value' in the context of the market, and their meaning has come to dominate our language in recent times.

The Oxford English Dictionary now lists its principal meaning in purely economic terms: 'that amount of some commodity, medium of exchange, etc., which is considered to be an equivalent for something else; a fair or adequate equivalent or return.' (Waring 1988, p. 17)

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