Helen Ding

Environmental Economist

Bio

Helen Ding is an Environmental Economist with the Economics Center at the World Resources Institute. Her work primarily focuses on terrestrial ecosystems and involves the development of economic models to measure and demonstrate the socio-economic value of natural resources for better government and business decision-making. At WRI, she works as a cross-programmatic economist to support the analysis and development of practical tools in Programs across the Institute. Amongst others, Helen contributes to Land and Resource Rights Initiative and develops studies that demonstrate the essential economic benefits of land tenure security in developing countries. She also supports Global Restoration Initiative to ensure the consistency and robustness of economic analyses undertaken in different geographies where WRI work. In addition, Helen supports the Land Use work of the New Climate Economy project, and works closely with Aqueduct Projects, Finance and Business Centers and WRI China office on a few topic areas, including sustainable water pricing, economic efficiency of water resources redistribution, economic assessment of biodiversity and ecosystems, valuation and accounting of natural capital risks for business and financial institutions, and economic costs of air pollution on health and employment.

Prior to joining WRI, Helen was a senior economist at Deloitte Sustainability Service in Paris and the deputy leader of Deloitte’s Natural Capital Community of Practice for Europe and Asia. In her capacity, she led projects related to resource economics and natural capital, and contributed to the technical development of the Natural Capital Protocol under the leadership of the WBCSD. Prior to that, Helen gained considerable research experience in market and nonmarket valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and socio-economic impact assessment of climate change and biodiversity policy through her various appointments in several leading environmental economics research institutes in the EU. Among her professional achievements, Helen‘s PhD research on the “Economic Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being” received UNECE/FAO PhD Thesis Award in 2011 for recognizing its significant contribution to the "Sustainable Forest Management in the UNECE region”.

Helen holds a PhD degree in Science and Management of Climate Change from Italy, a MSc in Environmental Sciences with specialization in Environmental Economics and Natural Resources from the Netherlands, and a BA in Economics and Finance from China. Helen is an active global traveler and has country experiences in Africa, Asia, Central & South America, Europe, Pacific islands and USA.

Blog Posts

Restoration: One of the Most Overlooked Opportunities for Economic Growth
by Helen Ding, Sofia Faruqi, Caroline Gagné and Andrés Anchondo Ortega - December 19, 2017
While restoring degraded landscapes yields $7-$30 for every $1 invested, it still isn't receiving the funding it needs. That's where governments come in.
Brazil’s Proposed Environmental Laws Would Weaken Indigenous Rights, Forfeit Billions in Economic Benefits
by Helen Ding, Rachel Biderman and Sophie Boehm - December 23, 2016
Grappling with Brazil's longest recession since the 1930s, government officials are under enormous pressure to combat rising unemployment, address corruption and control inflation. Yet two recent bills designed to solve the problem are misguided attempts that could degrade the environment, diminish human rights and hurt the economy.
How Do You Pick the Right Adaptation Strategy? 4 Tools Can Help
by Moushumi Chaudhury, Juan-Carlos Altamirano, Helen Ding and Erin Gray - December 15, 2016
There are a lot of ways for countries and communities to adapt to climate change. Choosing the right one can be tricky.
Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense
by Peter Veit and Helen Ding - October 07, 2016
Indigenous Peoples and other communities hold and manage 50 to 60 percent of the world's land, yet governments recognize only 10 percent as legally belonging to these groups. That's bad economic policy, shows a new WRI report.
3 Reasons Property Rights Are Essential for Healthy Ecosystems
by Helen Ding and Peter Veit - September 28, 2016
Giving people the legal right to own, use and sell land, water and other goods can actually lead to more sustainable resource use.
Indigenous Peoples and Communities Face Growing Barriers to Land Ownership
by Peter Veit and Helen Ding - September 15, 2016
Indigenous Peoples and other communities rely on their collectively held lands for food, water, livelihoods and well-being. Yet around the world, these groups face barriers to legally registering and titling these lands—and it’s getting worse.

External Publications

Ding, Helen. "Valuing climate change impacts on European forest ecosystems." Ecosystem Services 18 (2016): 141-153. doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.02.039.

Ding, Helen. "Modeling the links between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing in the context of climate change: Results from an econometric analysis of the European forest ecosystems." Ecological Economics 97 (2014): 60-73. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.11.004.

Ding, Helen. "The social dimension of biodiversity policy in the European Union: Valuing the benefits to vulnerable communities." Environmental Science & Policy 33 (2013): 196-208. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2013.06.004.

Ding, Helen. "The economic assessment of changes in ecosystem services: and application of the CGE methodology." Economia Agraria y Recursos Naturales 11 (): . doi:.

Ding, Helen. "Economic Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Services Losses: Cost of Policy Inaction." Environmental and Resource Economics 50 (2011): 405-445. doi:10.1007/s10640-011-9478-6.

Ding, Helen. "Accounting for ecosystem services in business." Routledge Handbook of Ecosystem Services (2016): . doi:.

Ding, Helen. "Cost–benefit analysis of alternative land-use scenarios: A sustainability study for the Volcanic Central Talamanca Biological Corridor." Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Forests in Central America: An Ecosystem Service Perspective (2015): 152-177. doi:.

Ding, Helen. "European Forests and Carbon Sequestration Services: An Economic Assessment of Climate Change Impacts." Valuation of Regulating Services of Ecosystems: Methodology and Applications (): . doi:.

Making Big Ideas Happen™

Donate to WRI

Other Sites

Menu

Topics

You are here

Helen Ding

Restoration: One of the Most Overlooked Opportunities for Economic Growth

Brazil’s Proposed Environmental Laws Would Weaken Indigenous Rights, Forfeit Billions in Economic Benefits

How Do You Pick the Right Adaptation Strategy? 4 Tools Can Help

Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense

3 Reasons Property Rights Are Essential for Healthy Ecosystems

Indigenous Peoples and Communities Face Growing Barriers to Land Ownership

Stay Connected

Donate to WRI

Get Involved

Making Big Ideas Happen™

Donate to WRI

Other Sites

Menu

Topics

Search

You are here

Restoration: One of the Most Overlooked Opportunities for Economic Growth

Brazil’s Proposed Environmental Laws Would Weaken Indigenous Rights, Forfeit Billions in Economic Benefits

How Do You Pick the Right Adaptation Strategy? 4 Tools Can Help

Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense

3 Reasons Property Rights Are Essential for Healthy Ecosystems

Indigenous Peoples and Communities Face Growing Barriers to Land Ownership

Stay Connected

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTERS

Donate to WRI

Get Involved

Follow WRI