A new report from one of the world's leading conservation organisations says the world economy could stand to lose £368billion annually unless urgent action is taken to protect ecosystems.

It predicts the UK alone could lose £16billion in economic output every year should measures to enhance biodiversity and reverse nature's decline not be aggressively pursued.

The United States could suffer an £63.4billion annual loss, while Japan, which has a much smaller economy than the USA, could still lose about £61.5billion.

WWF says strong efforts to protect nature are needed to improve the world economy

The report analyses the benefits brought by 'ecosystem services' including crop pollination, timber production, coastal protection from flooding, water supply, marine fisheries and carbon storage.

It then examines how natural assets such as forests, wetlands, coral reefs and fish stocks, which protect these services would be impacted were such ecosystems to dramatically weaken because of the impact certain development scenarios have on the planet.

'The research paints a clear picture of the potential risks to our prosperity if we fail to tackle nature’s decline – and of what we can gain by protecting and restoring nature’s life support systems,' it states.

'Continuing with business as usual will not only be catastrophic for nature, it will also lead to highly undesirable economic effects. In contrast, ambitious efforts to protect and restore nature will dramatically improve economic outcomes.'

Should business continue as usual, the review says, with fossil fuel usage continuously rising and climate change significantly worsening, annual global GDP growth could be about $478.9billion lower.

Under a 'Global Conservation' scenario however, whereby areas with high biodiversity and ecosystem services are protected and there is strong international co-operation on climate change, world GDP would be a modest $11.3billion greater every year.

Under a 'Global Conservation' scenario however, whereby areas with high biodiversity and ecosystem services are protected and there is strong international co-operation on climate change, world GDP would be a modest $11.3billion greater every year

'The world is waking up to the need to reverse nature’s decline if we are to have a sustainable future,' it says.

'Yet current levels of ambition fall far short of what’s needed to achieve this, and continued population, economic and consumption growth is putting ever increasing pressures on our natural environment.'

It warns that the UK, along with Australia, Japan, and the USA could see major harm brought to its coastal infrastructure and agricultural land from flooding and erosion.

By 2050, the cost from loss of coastal protection could total £15billion a year in the UK, while damage to fisheries could cost £1billion.

Harm to water supplies, forestry production and pollination could total a further £124million.

But it does praise the country for setting up the Global Resource Initiative, a taskforce composed of representatives of business and environmental groups, to try and reduce the carbon footprint of global supply chains.

By 2050, the cost from loss of coastal protection could total £15billion a year in the UK

Tanya Steele, WWF-UK's CEO is a member of the group, which also includes Dame Helena Morrissey from Legal & General, and head of the NGO Forest Coalition Anna Collins.

Global commodity prices are also likely to increase as the agriculture sector is hit by the loss of nature, with prices rising by an estimated 8 per cent for timber, 6 per cent for cotton, 4 per cent for oil seeds and 3 per cent for fruit and vegetables by 2050.

The study covering 140 countries and key sectors has been produced in partnership with the Global Trade Analysis Project at Purdue University and the Natural Capital Project at the University of Minnesota.

Professor Thomas Hertel, GTAP's founder said the science and economics were clear.

'We can no longer ignore the strong economic case for restoring nature.

'Inaction will result in slower economic growth, disruption of coastal communities and higher food prices.

'To ensure positive global futures, we need to achieve more sustainable patterns of production and land use, and reform economic and financial systems to incentivise nature-based decision making.'