Summary

The Economics of Conservation – What price nature?

The past two decades have seen increasing emphasis on the economic benefits of conservation and biodiversity, attributing value to environmental goods as natural capital: discussions about ecology on the one hand and conservation on the other are increasingly couched in dollar terms.

Should our ecosystems have to earn their keep, or do these frameworks skew the way we see the natural world? Is it incongruous to frame conservation in terms of economics when the pursuit of economic growth has been the root cause of much of the environmental damage done to the planet’s ecosystems? And how does species triage work to try to allocate the world’s limited funds for conservation?

A panel discussion hosted by Paul Barclay and featuring Hugh Possingham, Jane Gleeson-White and Charles Massey.

The Economics of Conservation – What price nature? is a World Science Festival Brisbane Affiliate Event.

 

Image courtesy of the artist: James Tylor, Turralyendi Yerta (Tindo Kakirra Yerta) [detail] 2017