Environmental conservation and economic theory

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight the approach that economics as social science have given to the problems of environmental conservation. We describe the fields of economic theory that interact with the conservation biology. We discuss the relevant issues and in particular the difficulty of incorporating all the effects that the produc-tion of goods and services have in the environment related to undefined property rights. Finally, we discuss the challenges of economic theory in the design of coherent public policies oriented to a greater integration of human beings to the environment.