We are all asset managers. Whether as farmers or fishermen, hunters or gatherers, foresters or miners, households or companies, governments or communities, we manage the assets we have access to in line with our motivations, as best as we can. This Review pays close attention to a class of assets we call Nature and studies it in relation to the many other assets in our portfolios.

It is commonly accepted that growing urbanisation accompanying economic growth has created a distance between people and the natural world. There is evidence of that (Chapter 11). Rural communities in low income countries are a lot closer to Nature than are urban households in high income countries.