“Unleash the power of nature to help make cities more resilient, livable,” says Mark Tercek, The Nature Conservancy

Don’t just preserve nature,
create more of it…..

“As the world’s population grows and as our planet increasingly urbanizes, we need to redefine the relationship between cities and nature,” wrote Mark Tercek and his co-author Pascal Mittermaier in a blog published by the Huffington Post in January 2016. Mark Tercek is the president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy and author of Nature’s Fortune.

He writes that it is important to “connect new, younger and more diverse people with nature to ensure the next generation of environmental stewards and supporters.”

Nature’s Fortune

In Nature’s Fortune, Mark Tercek argues that nature is not only the foundation of human well-being, but also the smartest commercial investment any business or government can make.

“The forests, floodplains, and oyster reefs often seen simply as raw materials or as obstacles to be cleared in the name of progress are, in fact as important to our future prosperity as technology or law or business innovation,” he says.

“Who invests in nature, and why? What rates of return can it produce? When is protecting nature a good investment? Nature’s Fortune shows how viewing nature as green infrastructure allows for breakthroughs not only in conservation—protecting water supplies; enhancing the health of fisheries; making cities more sustainable, livable, and safe; and dealing with unavoidable climate change—but in economic progress, as well.”

“Organizations obviously depend on the environment for key resources—water, trees, and land. But they can also reap substantial commercial benefits in the form of risk mitigation, cost reduction, new investment opportunities, and the protection of assets. Once leaders learn how to account for nature in financial terms, they can incorporate that value into the organization’s decisions and activities, just as habitually as they consider cost, revenue, and ROI.”

To Learn More:

To download and read the complete article posted on the Huffington Post, click on From Davos: Unleashing the Power of Nature in Cities