Protecting the world’s natural resources

“Helping governments and policymakers to make better, more sustainable decisions that protect both nature and the people of this planet”

Nature is all around us but at a time when habitats are disappearing and up to a million species face extinction, do we always appreciate the full range of benefits we as humans gain from the natural world? And are too many decisions about our planet’s natural resources made for short-term profit and economic growth reasons? These questions lie at the heart of Michael Christie’s research as Professor of Environmental and Ecological Economics at Aberystwyth University.  

In October 2024, Professor Christie is one of the international experts invited to attend COP16 in Colombia. The sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia brings together governments, indigenous leaders, industry representatives and civil society to discuss the unprecedented environmental crisis we face and to make decisions which will shape the future of our planet.  

Attended by representatives from more than 190 countries, the event will discuss formally embedding the recommendations of the landmark Assessment Report on the Values and Valuation of Nature, commissioned by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and co-chaired by Professor Christie.  

The report brought together the expert assessments of 82 scientists from 47 countries who looked at how nature is valued in political and economic decisions. A key finding was that such decisions tend to put a greater weight on nature’s input into commercial activities, whereas more sustainable outcomes could be achieved if the wider benefits of nature are considered. The report’s recommendations have already been approved by the IPBES’s 139 member states, providing policymakers with a robust evidence base as well as concrete tools and methods to guide their response to the ecological crisis. 

Making a difference 

Speaking ahead of COP16, Professor Christie said: "COP16 is an incredibly important event, where major decisions affecting the future of our planet will be made. Representatives will be discussing the recommendations of the IPBES Values Assessment and incorporating them as a formal decision of the Convention.  This would put a formal obligation on signatory governments to consider the diverse values of biodiversity across a wide range of policy decisions, at international, national and local levels. 

“When we talk about the values of biodiversity and nature what we mean are the benefits we as humans derive from the natural world. For example, we get timber from trees to build or heat our homes, fresh water to drink, fish to eat from rivers, lakes and seas. Nature also supports our cultural identities and our physical welfare and well-being in many ways. But when it comes to making decisions which affect these natural resources, governments, businesses and consumers often base their decisions on a narrow set of market values, short-term profits and economic growth. Decisions like these contribute to the global biodiversity and climate crises we face today. 

“In my research, I work with colleagues to examine how we can balance the demands of production, consumption and economic development with the need to protect fragile ecological systems. Our aim is to draw attention to the whole range of benefits we derive from nature - not only the economic but also the cultural, spiritual and well-being benefits. The recommendations we make can help governments and policymakers make better, more sustainable decisions that protect both nature and the people of this planet.”   

Collaboration and Engagement  

Professor Christie regularly works in collaboration with a global network of academics. He shares his expertise and knowledge through papers and publications as well as being invited to speak at major international conferences and gatherings such as the COP16 Convention on Biological Diversity.   

Professor Christie is Principal Investigator on a joint research project between Aberystwyth and East Anglia universities focusing on practical ways of embedding nature’s multiple values into decision-making. Funded by NERC, the three-year project runs from 2022 until August 2025. He is also part of an international, interdisciplinary team of scientists exploring ways of changing how humans relate to other species to produce and sustain ecologically and socially just outcomes. The MUST project is funded by the Finnish Strategic Research Council. 

As well as co-chairing the Values Assessment report in 2022, Professor Christie was a lead author on the IPBES’s Europe and Central Asia assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services in 2018. The study identified a range of governance options, policies and management practices which could be used to reduce the loss of biodiversity and safeguard nature’s contributions to people in that region. In recognition of his work, Professor Christie was awarded Aberystwyth University’s Award for Exceptional Research Impact in 2023. 

Find out more

• Case study submitted to the Research Excellence Framework 2021
• Professor Christie’s research profile
• Professor Christie’s staff profile
• 2024 press release: COP16 leaders urged to embed all nature’s values in decision-making
• 2023 Article in Nature in 2023: New study calls for a step change in how decision-makers value nature
• 2022 press release: Value of natural world overlooked for short-term economic growth
• 2018 press release: Aberystwyth academic appointed to global diversity study