Authored by over 60 social and natural scientists, the chapters cover a wide range of countries, including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru, and Brazil in Latin America; Ghana, Ehiopia and Madagascar in Africa; India, Java, Japan, Australia and the Philippines in Asia and the Pacific; and France in Europe. These studies provide rich empirical data on the unique problems posed by the incorporation of ecosystems as natural capital (that is, as supplier of services) in economic decisions in the developing and the developed world. Although much has been written on payments for ecosystem services, this book offers an original contribution to the debate by assessing the role the state plays, or could play, in governing the provision of ecosystem services. The book, which was ahead of its time, is worth reading today in the context of the growing popularity of ‘nature-based solutions’ and other policies inspired by the Dasgupta Report.