Conservation - Scientific Papers

[Matias]

Commercialization of Nature: Can Market-Based Mechanisms Deliver Positive Conservation and Development Outcomes?

Quote:3. Market-Based Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation
Since 1990s, market-based approaches to biodiversity conservation gained popularity in many countries [6] . The market-based conservation is fitted in neoliberalism that aims to reregulate nature through forms of commodification [21] . Neoliberalism “proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets and free trade” ( [22] , p. 2). The neoliberalisation priorities include deregulation, decentralisation, increased private sector involvement and withdrawal of the state in markets [23] . The state’s role in the neoliberal context is to “create and preserve an institutional framework appropriate to such practices” ( [22] , p. 2).

Neoliberal conservation may take many forms, but it reframes conservation in terms of market mechanisms [21] . Neoliberal conservation can be defined as the “decentralisation of environmental governance, or a shift in responsibility for formal resource management from state to local institutions and new forms of commodification and commercialisation of nature that emerge in these contexts in order to fund conservation efforts” ( [24] , p. 10). Advocates of market-based conservation argue that such market will increase conservation fund, increase environment-friendly business practices, promote participatory conservation, protect native property rights, and promote environmental consciousness, thus enhancing more effective and efficient conservation [21] . Market- based conservation has been linked with efforts to empower and economically improve the condition of most disadvantaged people, for example poor farmers, the landless, women and indigenous peoples [25] . Thus, the approach differ from traditional command and control approach to natural resources conservation as it allows actors to undertake actions that have the lowest cost but lead to more cost-effective results.

The main commodities for production and exchange in the market are mainly carbon, wildlife, landscape aesthetics, genetic resources and related knowledge, and ecosystem services. There have been major policy documents supporting this approach. These documents, among others, include: “The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity” [26] and “Towards a green economy” [27] .
The economic rationale of market-based approaches is premised on the assumption that “if biodiversity and other environmental services are assigned market prices, market forces will drive biodiversity conservation ( [28] , p. 2). The requirements in these markets are mainly commodification, privatization, free trade locally, nationally and internationally. The approach is construed as a means to achieve development and environmental conservation in an environmentally sound way [9] .

The main markets include payment for ecosystem services (PES) (also known as payment of environmental services)―focus on maintaining a flow of a specified ecosystem service in exchange for something of economic value. Examples under PES scheme include: carbon trade (Kyoto Protocol)―The Protocol, adopted in Japan in 1997 and entered into force in 2005, is an international treaty that binds “State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions” [29] . This Protocol was the first international attempt to fight climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions. The carbon trade emerged as an exchange of credits between nations. The trade was designed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. The trade allows countries that have higher carbon emissions to purchase the right to release more CO2 into the atmosphere from countries that have lower carbon emissions [30] . Natural forests and plantation are regarded as an important carbon sinks. Therefore, by allowing landowners to sell the carbon stored in these forests as emission reduction credits, will act as an incentive for forest conservation [6] . This argument has been embraced by the forestry sector in many countries as well as forest plantation companies, and has promoted the afforestation and reforestation projects [28] . Another form of PES is payments for watershed services―payments or direct compensations by the beneficiaries of a watershed service for the maintenance or provision of the service to its providers.

Biodiversity offsets is another form of market where the conservation actions are intended to compensate for the residual, unavoidable harm to biodiversity caused by development projects, so as to ensure “no net loss” of biodiversity. However, before developers contemplate offsets, they should have first sought to avoid and minimise harm to biodiversity [31] .

Forest Certification is another form of market that intends to ensure “sustainable forest management based on environmentally, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests for present and future generations” ( [32] , p. 5). The certification concept emerged in the 1990s after many campaigns by environmental groups on the impact of timber logging on the environment. Examples of these campaigns include the “Boycott Tropical Timber” and “Save the Rainforest” of the 1970s and 1980s. The campaigns managed to raise awareness amongst consumers as well as putting pressure on the industry to use their purchasing power to influence practices in the trade. Based on this, timber producers, traders and environmentalists consent to establish the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in the early 1990s. Since then, a mechanism has been put in place to identify timber from genuine sources [33] .

A bit old (2016), but the message is up to date, as far as the subject is concerned. Reply