# Real Estate Appraisal Is Nature-Blind - And It's Bankrupting Us All

*This multi-trillion-dollar valuation gap is destroying the planet and the wealth it provides — this simple fix could solve climate and biodiversity simultaneously*

By [BASIN Dispatches](https://dispatches.basin.global) · 2025-09-17

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Everyone's debating how to "price" nature.  
  
But it's not a pricing problem—it's a Value problem. (Capital V intentional.)  
  
When nature is properly valued in both economics and culture, many environmental and climate problems solve themselves. Not all, but most.  
  
The biggest lever? Real estate appraisal.  
  
Here's a practical example: If natural capital (ecosystem extent + condition) were properly valued, most real estate is 10-50% [or even more](https://dispatches.basin.global/the-value-of-investing-in-nature-=-infinity) under-valued. Not just mispriced—fundamentally mis-valued.  
  
The math is simple: ecosystem function ties directly to dollar value of all the benefits nature provides. Thriving ecosystems = higher property values. Depleted ecosystems = lower values.  
  
The incentive structure fixes itself.  
  
Steward nature → create more value. Destroy nature → destroy value.  
  
This exposes Value that already exists. We can use instrumental value to protect and bolster intrinsic Value.  
  
**The truth?** If real asset appraisal included the holistic valuation of natural assets instead of just the financial and economic value of real estate, we probably wouldn't need carbon credits, biodiversity credits, or [Certificates of Ensurance](https://ensurance.app/).  
  
Real estate appraisal just needs to include nature value.  
  
We call it [Higher & Better Use](https://docs.basin.global/realvalue/the-realvalue-of-natural-capital) instead of the BAU "Highest & Best Use".  
  
_What if your property's ecological health determined its market value? What would you do differently? How would you manage the land?_

Natural Asset Valuation
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See it in action and practice [here](https://binder.ensurance.app/).

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/695a7ae49effd40ae70d5f53e482150e6ec4b406dda8952b6a3fe1ebc9b399a5.png)

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*Originally published on [BASIN Dispatches](https://dispatches.basin.global/real-estate-appraisal-is-nature-blind-and-its-bankrupting-us-all)*