How to Pay for Saving Biodiversity
Article

How to Pay for Saving Biodiversity

Can private sector involvement in a global agreement help to conserve global biodiversity?

Edward B. Barbier, Joanne C. Burgess and Thomas J. Dean
Science, 2018
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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

Protecting the environment is often seen more as a “nice-to-have” than something that needs to be prioritized. Global funding for protecting biodiversity falls woefully short of what is actually required. For this initiative to be successful, the private sector needs to step up. But how do you encourage business to adopt a goal that does not seem to have any immediate pay-offs? Anyone interested in finding a workable way to protect the global ecosystem should read this article.

Summary

The measures in place to ensure biodiversity are inadequate to maintain the global ecosystem.

Despite the fact that global biodiversity protection has been on the international agenda for over 25 years, it is still underfunded. Many governments have signed up to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which aim to conserve at least 27% of habitats by 2020. But scientists claim that the targets are not ambitious enough. They are asking to raise the target to 50%, which would cost an estimated $100 billion. This figure is significantly higher than the $4-10 billion governments currently spend.

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About the Authors

Edward B. Barbier is a professor at Colorado State University and a senior scholar in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability. Joanne C. Burgess is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics. Thomas J. Dean is a professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Enterprise.

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