Nature: Poorest May See It As Their Economic Rival
Bibliography B1423
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| Author(s) | Marvier, M. Grant, J. Kareiva, P. |
| Date | October 2006 |
| Reference type | Journal Article |
| Source name | Nature |
| Journal | Vol 443 |
| Pages | pp. 749-750 |
| Publisher | International Weekly Journal of Science |
Summary
The moral imperative of saving species and protecting nature, as put forward by Douglas J. McCauley ("Selling out on nature" Nature 443, 27–28; 2006), must be weighed against the moral imperative of saving people. But the conservation debate cannot be reduced to a choice between protecting nature or making an extra million for a yacht or villa. The reality is that poor people are deforesting vast areas of tropical forest for subsistence agriculture, members of indigenous tribes are killing endangered wildlife and out-of-work fishermen are converting mangrove forests to shrimp farms. Moreover, biodiversity is greatest in the very areas where human populations are most dense, most rapidly growing and most impoverished (R. P. Cincotta, J. Wisnewski and R. EngelmanNature 404, 990–992; 2000). McCauley does not acknowledge that economic valuation of ecosystem services can provide the data and tools needed to make human well-being part of the design of conservation projects. Although win–win scenarios are hard to find, it is important that we take the care to quantify ecosystem services, so that those situations in which both humans and biodiversity benefit can be identified and promoted. Moreover, if fundamental economic concepts such as GNP could be reformulated to reflect ecosystem services, then nations might embark on policies that better protect their natural capital assets.
Themes
Poverty-Environment Linkages
Related records above this one:
- Santa Clara University, USA (Organisation O0244)
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC) (Organisation O0078)