Neoliberal Natures – The Limits of Financialisation in Scotland’s Conservation
(2024) HEKM51 20241Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
- Abstract
- With the acceleration of climate change and biodiversity loss in recent years, the neoliberal economic response to environmental challenges has been to integrate nature into market mechanisms, hoping to account for ecological degradation while funding nature conservation and restoration. This study critically examines the resulting financialisation of conservation, focussing on Scotland in particular. Two emerging policy frameworks related to conservation, namely the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) and the Natural Capital Market Framework (NCMF), are critically examined. The analysis reveals that the NCMF represents an escalation of financialisation in environmental policy, while the proposed expansion into new financial products... (More)
- With the acceleration of climate change and biodiversity loss in recent years, the neoliberal economic response to environmental challenges has been to integrate nature into market mechanisms, hoping to account for ecological degradation while funding nature conservation and restoration. This study critically examines the resulting financialisation of conservation, focussing on Scotland in particular. Two emerging policy frameworks related to conservation, namely the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) and the Natural Capital Market Framework (NCMF), are critically examined. The analysis reveals that the NCMF represents an escalation of financialisation in environmental policy, while the proposed expansion into new financial products beyond carbon and biodiversity credits raises significant concerns about the long-term viability and ecological integrity of conservation efforts. The study identifies multiple fundamental flaws in the NCMF’s approach which suggest that the NCMF’s market-based solutions are not only ecologically unsound but also risk perpetuating 'fictitious conservation,' where the appearance of biophysically grounded conservation is maintained through economic transactions while actual conservation outcomes are absent. Additionally, the SBS’s reliance on private investment to address funding gaps reflects a neoliberal economic agenda that prioritises market mechanisms over public accountability and ecological integrity. The absence of robust public conservation funding and the failure to address key environmental threats, such as fossil fuel extraction, further undermine the strategy’s effectiveness. The study concludes that the policy trajectory shown by the SBS and NCMF is stalling on effective biodiversity restoration and climate action, rendering the achievement of Scotland’s conservation aims improbable. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9174224
- author
- van Rooij, Daniël LU
- supervisor
-
- Eric Clark LU
- organization
- course
- HEKM51 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Financialisation, Biodiversity, Scotland, Conservation policy, Natural capital markets
- language
- English
- id
- 9174224
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-12 08:51:31
- date last changed
- 2024-09-12 08:51:31
@misc{9174224, abstract = {{With the acceleration of climate change and biodiversity loss in recent years, the neoliberal economic response to environmental challenges has been to integrate nature into market mechanisms, hoping to account for ecological degradation while funding nature conservation and restoration. This study critically examines the resulting financialisation of conservation, focussing on Scotland in particular. Two emerging policy frameworks related to conservation, namely the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) and the Natural Capital Market Framework (NCMF), are critically examined. The analysis reveals that the NCMF represents an escalation of financialisation in environmental policy, while the proposed expansion into new financial products beyond carbon and biodiversity credits raises significant concerns about the long-term viability and ecological integrity of conservation efforts. The study identifies multiple fundamental flaws in the NCMF’s approach which suggest that the NCMF’s market-based solutions are not only ecologically unsound but also risk perpetuating 'fictitious conservation,' where the appearance of biophysically grounded conservation is maintained through economic transactions while actual conservation outcomes are absent. Additionally, the SBS’s reliance on private investment to address funding gaps reflects a neoliberal economic agenda that prioritises market mechanisms over public accountability and ecological integrity. The absence of robust public conservation funding and the failure to address key environmental threats, such as fossil fuel extraction, further undermine the strategy’s effectiveness. The study concludes that the policy trajectory shown by the SBS and NCMF is stalling on effective biodiversity restoration and climate action, rendering the achievement of Scotland’s conservation aims improbable.}}, author = {{van Rooij, Daniël}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Neoliberal Natures – The Limits of Financialisation in Scotland’s Conservation}}, year = {{2024}}, }