About Natural Capital
Parta Dasgupta (Witness Book) (UK, now); Mariner’s Book (USA, January 20, 2026)

How do environmental hazards associated with production influence costs? What implications does that have for the nation’s economy? Can we quantify the significance of a healthy living environment and the biodiversity surrounding us?

In 2021, Partha Dasgupta, emeritus professor of economics at Cambridge University, authored a comprehensive 610-page report addressing these inquiries for the UK government. His latest work, About Natural Capital: The Value of the World Around Us, aims to broaden its accessibility.

Your opinion of Dasgupta’s success may hinge on your interest in an analytical exploration of economic concepts interspersed with engaging narratives. His core thesis asserts that GDP’s utility in measuring economic success is fundamentally inadequate. Historical advancements in living standards have primarily stemmed from human innovations; as Dasgupta notes, “entrepreneurs have prioritized labor and capital-saving devices over natural savings devices.”

This is particularly evident with the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, a hallmark of humanity’s quest for “labor and capital savings.” High-tech billionaires behind AI tout extraordinary productivity gains, yet the substantial water consumption for the cooling of associated data centers is often overlooked.

Dasgupta notes in his original report that from 1992 to 2014, per capita human capital (encompassing our health, education, and skills) rose by about 13% globally, while per capita natural capital plummeted by nearly 40%. To remedy this disparity, he champions the widespread adoption of a metric for “global wealth per person” that incorporates nature.

The narrative can be further expanded by examining shrimp farms in Vietnam and Bangladesh. Dasgupta elucidates how these operations adversely impact the “natural capital” of those nations, effects that remain unaccounted for in the retail price of shrimp. The establishment of shrimp farms typically necessitates the destruction of mangroves and salt marshes, reducing carbon storage capabilities.

Notably, around 30% of the diet for these shrimp consists of soybeans cultivated in plantations that replace tropical forests. Dasgupta references a case study suggesting that if true environmental costs were factored in, shrimp export prices might rise by 15-20%. Essentially, affluent nations purchasing shrimp may be receiving an unfair bargain.

While I do not profess expertise in economics, I am generally apprehensive about pursuing economic gains at the expense of significant environmental degradation. So, what are the actionable steps we can take? In a concise chapter, Dasgupta proposes a method to value nature adequately. This could involve collecting fees from shipping companies navigating global waters, with proceeds allocated towards job creation to alleviate pressures on ecosystems worldwide.

These concepts resonate intuitively for me, but I find myself seeking more detailed explanations. Dasgupta alludes to the challenges of achieving collective agreement and the lack of enthusiasm surrounding global shipping fees. This is an area where I wished he presented a more impassioned argument. While his ideas are captivating, they lack the urgency many readers might desire.

About Natural Capital provokes a reevaluation of economic perspectives, though I yearn for a more emotive approach. Perhaps this expectation is excessive for such a publication, yet I remain concerned that crucial messages may not resonate with a broader audience.

Jason Arun Mruguez is a writer based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

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