Animals are going extinct at an alarmingly fast rate, largely due to human activity. Same for plants. This is bad for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is that breakthrough drugs often come from nature. But there isn’t consensus on how to save these species.

Part of the debate asks the economic question: with limited money going to the work, where will it have the most impact? Today on the show, the cost-effective plan to maximize biodiversity that asks ecologists to approach the question more like economists.

Related episodes:

The Habitat Banker

The echo of the bison

Savings birds with economics

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez . Music by Drop El

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