
On Natural Capital
The Value of the World Around Us
Partha Dasgupta(Author)
Witness Books (Publisher)
Published on 16. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-5291-4421-5 (ISBN)
Description
What if we were to put a value on nature just as we value everything else?
For as long as they have existed, our economic models have served us an incomplete picture. The models and metrics tell us that our economies are healthy because they are growing. However, this doesn't account for the fact that our growth is driven by a resource that we take for free and treat as infinite: nature. We know now, more than ever, that our demand on the natural world is unsustainable. It's no longer sufficient to only see part of the picture; it's time that our economic models show us the whole thing.
An urgent call from renowned Cambridge economist Sir Partha Dasgupta to transform the focus and structures of global economics, On Natural Capital is a bold and groundbreaking book that could, truly, change everything.
'the most important person you've never heard of' - The New York Times
'Partha Dasgupta provides the compass we urgently need... by bringing economics and ecology together, we can help save the natural world at what may be the last minute - and in doing so, save ourselves.' - David Attenborough
For as long as they have existed, our economic models have served us an incomplete picture. The models and metrics tell us that our economies are healthy because they are growing. However, this doesn't account for the fact that our growth is driven by a resource that we take for free and treat as infinite: nature. We know now, more than ever, that our demand on the natural world is unsustainable. It's no longer sufficient to only see part of the picture; it's time that our economic models show us the whole thing.
An urgent call from renowned Cambridge economist Sir Partha Dasgupta to transform the focus and structures of global economics, On Natural Capital is a bold and groundbreaking book that could, truly, change everything.
'the most important person you've never heard of' - The New York Times
'Partha Dasgupta provides the compass we urgently need... by bringing economics and ecology together, we can help save the natural world at what may be the last minute - and in doing so, save ourselves.' - David Attenborough
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Ebury Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
254 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5291-4421-5 (9781529144215)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2025
Ebury Digital
€10.99
Available for download

Book
07/2025
Witness Books
€21.50
Available immediately
Person
Partha Dasgupta is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He was awarded the 2021 Kew International Medal of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and in 2022 was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire by King Charles III for 'services to economics and the natural environment'.