Now a new report by WWF has put a price on all the non-timber products of a hectare of rainforest, including honey, fibre, mushrooms, medicinal plants, erosion prevention, fire prevention, pollination, carbon storage, and recreational uses.
The researchers came up with a value of $426 per hectare, which compares with between $300 and $600 per hectare if the rainforest was levelled and converted to soy plantations, and between $51 and $148 if the land was used for cattle ranching.
This article first appeared in the Ecologist April 2009