How do you put a price tag on nature?

In this episode of Before the Tipping Point — where AI and Sustainability meet Climate Leadership, we explore the economics behind seaweed farming and ecosystem services with Ngoc Pham, Aquaculture and Marine Economist at Wageningen Social and Economic Research, Wageningen University & Research.

Ngoc has worked on blue economy projects since 2012, and in this conversation, we unpack the complex challenge of assigning monetary value to ecosystem services provided by seaweed farming. The discussion examines:

• How ecosystem services from seaweed farming can be valued
• The economic and methodological challenges of pricing these services
• Why seaweed farmers struggle to access markets such as carbon credits
• Whether payments for ecosystem services could improve the profitability of seaweed farming

This episode offers a grounded, economics-driven look at what it takes to move ecosystem services from theory into real-world markets — and what that could mean for the future of sustainable aquaculture.

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