Two new reports on reveal how corporations benefit from the financialization of nature

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Friends of the Earth International have published two new briefings on the financialisation of nature over the last two decades.

Both consider how corporations, industries and international institutions have spent the last two decades pursuing market-based ‘solutions’ to the deepening biodiversity crisis. ‘Financialization of nature’—a process of framing discourse and policies related to environmental protection in solely economic terms—has been portrayed as the ‘win-win’ solution, allowing for conservation of nature while business as usual continues. However, this proves to be a false solution, allowing further environmental destruction and human rights violations in the process.

Regulated Destruction‘ explores how corporations and countries use Financialization of Nature discourse to weaken environmental regulations and facilitate exploitation by extractive industries in protected areas and other contested places.

Nature For Sale‘ unpacks how businesses use Financialization of Nature processes for profit: by bending environmental policy to their interests, getting access to restricted natural sites, getting quick approval for financial loans, and winning reputational benefits through greenwashing. The report digs deep in to the involvement of certain sectors—banking, extractive industries related to mining, oil, gas and quarrying, real estate, consumer goods, and aviation—and how each of them benefits from offsetting and similar schemes

Click the links to download the reports from the Friends of the Earth International website.

Documentary ‘Lords of Water’ hits European TV screens

A new documentary has been broadcast about water financialization. The programme is produced by the German-French TV ARTE and is called ‘Main Basse sur l’Eau’ or ‘Wasser – Im Visier der Finanzhaie’ (Lords of Water).

It is available in French and German and can be watched for free online here.

The documentary shows the impacts of water markets in Australia and its development in California. They interview many of the people actually speculating with water.

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New report on the risks of Biodiversity Offsetting

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“Nature destruction cannot be compensated for” say NGOs warning communities against biodiversity offsetting

As the world’s forests, lands and waters keep being destroyed, the people whose livelihoods are deeply linked to these places cannot continue their way of life and are often pushed into poverty and hunger. At the same time, the very actors profiting from this destruction have found a way to come across as friends of Nature. How is that possible?

Exposing the absurd logic behind this paradox is the goal of a new booklet published by the NGOs Re:Common and Counter Balance. “Biodiversity Offsetting, a threat to life” is a short publication aimed at explaining what biodiversity offsetting is and how it is deployed by private companies – with the support of governments and the legitimization of some conservation organizations and academics ­– to greenwash their reputation and continue with business-as-usual.

Starting from the observation that biodiversity offsetting projects are mainly top-down and imposed on communities with little regard for their wellbeing, the booklet shows through concrete examples and illustrations how this mechanism is nothing but a license to destroy.

While in the eyes of international financial institutions, governments and corporations, the damage to nature and communities is an inevitable price to pay for development and economic growth, the booklet calls on communities to reclaim their fundamental right to decide what is best for them and their territories.

Alessandro Runci, campaigner at Re:Common and author of the booklet, claimed:

“We deem unacceptable that the burden of the protection of Nature is placed on those who are least responsible and most affected by its destruction, while helping corporate polluters to greenwash the impacts of their businesses. It is illogical to replace environmental regulations with perverse mechanisms to trade forests, grasslands, mountains and deserts for profit. Nature is priceless, and it is not for sale.”

Xavier Sol, director of Counter Balance, added:

“The real causes of the destruction of Nature are rooted in a development model designed to take from the many and give to the few. Biodiversity Offsetting allows corporations to continue with their destructive businesses undisturbed. We believe that it is of vital importance that civil society and NGOs stand united against this mechanism, and say: No to biodiversity offsetting!”

Updated dossier on the New Economy of Nature

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Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung have just updated their dossier New Economy of Nature!

‘Offsetting is better than doing nothing at all.’

‘Prices must tell the ecological truth.’

These and other popular arguments for an economic valuation of nature are critiqually questioned in our dossier New Economy of Nature. Ten contrasting points illustrate where these common assumptions fall short or where they are just false.

Also NEW in our dossier:

Our dossier illustrates what the concept of the ‘New Economy of Nature’ stands for and why this approach has been of increased interest to economy and politics. We name key actors and institutions that are shaping the discourse and highlight contradictions as well as disputable assumptions.

New report: rejecting Financialization of Nature

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Friends of the Earth International are presenting a new publication from their Forests and Biodiversity Program.

The brochure, “rejecting Financialization of Nature”, explains in a simple way how financialzation works using examples from different countries.  It puts forward a strong position on financialization to raise awareness in the public and should be a useful tool for those lobbying at international and national levels.

Spanish and French language editions are available from Friends of the Earth International directly.

Friends of the Earth International is also publishing materials to support its work about climate finance at the national and international levels, at the UN and UNFCCC, backing Indigenous Peoples and local communities rights to end deforestation and forest degradation.

Drawing together these pieces of work, Isaac Rojas has written an article for The Ecologist magazine: “Local communities, not global financiers, are the best forest managers”.

New paper: “the dangers of commodifying our natural world”

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Friends of the Earth Europe has produced a new paper stating that the group believes “nature is not for sale”.

Proposed EU policy would introduce new systems of biodiversity offsetting as a theoretical way to secure “no net loss” of biodiversity.  Friends of the Earth Europe’s paper summarises and explains the problems with this approach.

You can read the report on the Friends of the Earth Europe website.

Making Dreams Come True – New Film

Biodiversity offsetting, making dreams come true from Global Motion on Vimeo.

Biodiversity offsetting makes dreams come true. It is the license that can make bad developers’ dreams a reality.

Across the world offsets already justify the destruction of irreplaceable ecosystems to make way for mining projects, motorways, pipelines …

Europe is the new frontier for biodiversity buying levitra online reviews offsets.The European Union is considering new legislation that permits biodiversity offsets.

Tell the EU that nature is not for sale by responding to their public consultation before 17th October 2014 and sign our letter to the EU.

Background information

Last year more then 140 organisations signed on to the ‘No to biodiversity offsets declaration’. Read all about it here

‘Biodiversity offsetting, making dreams come true’ is a film by the following organisations:

  • Counter Balance
  • Fern
  • Re:Common
  • Carbon Trade Watch
  • WDM