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In what could be the world’s first economic valuation of a zoo, the National Zoological Park in New Delhi is found to be providing ecosystem services estimated at nearly Rs 423 crore annually. As per the valuation, by The Energy and Resources Institute, recreational and cultural component of the ecosystem services is valued at Rs 324.33 crore a year, education and research at Rs 37.6 crore, employment generation at Rs 32.16 crore and biodiversity conservation at Rs 27.33 crore. The vegetation on the sprawling compound, sequesters carbon dioxide worth Rs 1.31 crore annually. The report was compiled at the behest of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), and released on 05 October 2020 by the Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr Prakash Javadekar.