In October, the World Bank launched an initiative to help countries include the benefits of protecting nature into their national accounts.  The Global Partnership for Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services Valuation and Wealth aims to build on the United Nations Environment Programme’s intiative The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), which published its final report in October. Teeb’s headline conclusion was that degradation of the natural world is costing the global economy $2-5 trillion per year. The Bank released very little information about the partnership, but it is intended to be a five year pilot with six to ten nations taking part, beginning with India and Colombia. The aim is to demonstrate how countries can quantify the value of ecosystems, and incorporate this into policy design, and to develop guidelines that can be applied around the world. The partnership aims to include developed and developing countries, international organisations such as UNEP and conservation and development NGOs as well as the global organisation for legislators, GLOBE International.