8. Neoliberal Environments Flashcards
What are the positives to putting a value on nature?
Because it’s value has previously not been accounted for in desicionmaking
What are the bad things to putting a price to nature
Further endorsed the cause of environmental problems
What is neoliberalism
An economic and political philosophy that questions government interventions in the market and people relationships to the economy
When did neoliberalism emerge
1970’s
What are the characteristics of neoliberalism
Privatisation, marketisation, state roll back or de regulation, creation of self sufficient communities
What is neoliberalism seen as?
Not just a set of mechanisms but a political philosophy
What did Margaret Thatcher say about society
There is no just thing as society
What is commodification
The process which previously circulated outside monetary exchange is brought into the market
Who said nature was a fictitious commodity
Polanyi
What else is commodified?
The concept of nature itself
What is typically the situation where nature gets commodified?
Associated with expanding circuits of capitalism and economic growth
What is commondificarion if nature now used as?
A way to primate to environment
In environmental economics what causes environmental problems
Market failure
What is commodification if nature
Putting a pice on it
Who are the two big pushers of neoliberalism
Thatcher and Reagan
Why are environmental goods and bags not normally factored into deduction making
Not priced, some feel there is little need
How do economic environmentalists think of fixing market failures
Internalising externalities using economic instruments
What are economic instruments to environmental policy
Green taxes, subsidies, cap and trade, extended producer, responsibility, eco labelling, off sets
What are the benefits to neoliberalist environmental economics
Doesn’t impose punitive restrictions personal freedoms, more efficient environmental improvements are made where it is most cost effective to do so, those responsible payed the price
What are the challenge with environmental economics
It doesn’t work with the current system but extends that system, thatcher-there is no alternative, normalises and naturalises the idea of markets as a solution,
Who starts to champion neoliberal markets,
Environmentalists who were formally against it were now its champions
What fundamentally is market environmentalism
Anthropocentric
What are ecosystem services
The benefits people obtain from ecosystems
How does Fischer describe ecosystem services?
The aspects of eco systems utilise to produce human well being
When was the millennium ecosystem assessment
2005
How many scientists make up MEA
1300
How many of the ES investigated are at a state of decline
15 out of 24
What are the provisioning services of AES
Food, fresh water, wood and fuel
What are cultural Es services
Aesthetic, spiritual, educational, recreational
What are regulatory ES
Climate regulation, flood regulation, disease regulation, water purification
What are ES supporting services
Nutrient cycling, soil formation, primary production
What is the definition of a service?
A system supplying public need such as transport communications or untilities such as electricity and water
What can moorland be used for?
Grazing, walking, bringing up young, poor cultivation
Why pay for ES
More efficient than command and control, ecosystem deterioration is caused by market failure
What the costs to downstream populations from conservation to pasture
Reduced water services, loss of biodiversity, carbon emissions
What is Teeb
Global initiative focussed on drawing attention to economic benefits of biodiversity
What is the white paper?
Released by government to assess environmental outcomes
Who is chair of the Ecosystem markets task force
Ian Cheshire
What is eco labelling?
Labelling products that are eco oriented to encourage consumers to buy them
What are public payment schemes?
Government decides on priorities for conservation and implements targeted payment schemes
Where can you buy bottled air?
Japan
What does Charing for once free products do
Makes people more resourceful
Give an example of how money is made from conserving the environment
Wetlands banking
What did Vittel do so in could keep selling water,
Brand name could not be used if nitrate content was above 4.5mg so payed farmers to change management teqnuqies
How did the farmers around vittel have power?
All of them had to agree so there was a
monopoly of power
How much compensation did each farmer get?
18-30 year contracts up to 150,000 for each farm
Give an example of where the government pays to help conserve national parks
Richtersveld, was leased from local communities by the government. In other words, the government paid the park’s neighbors to help deliver conservation outcomes
What is the argument against Richtersveld national park (ferraro)
We should not commodify nature. We should not pay people to do what they ought to be doing anyway. Cash payments will ruin the economies and social fabric of poor rural communities
What is an argument for paying for an ecosystem as suggested by Ferraro
I have food because I pay someone to supply it. Why not pay someone to supply ecosystem services and biodiversity?
In richtersveld what are some of the advantages to PES (Ferraro)
(PES) are easily scalable and clearly link conservation investments to conservation objectives. Like alternative livelihood interventions, PES programs materially reward rural households, thereby potentially alleviating poverty and reducing conflict between conservationists and rural communities
Between 1996-8 how many publications on google scholar used the temrs PES
less than 24, 2006-2008 over 2 thousand
Why did policy makers see PES as win win?
Win for the environment and for people (muradian 2013)
What was the first PES to be rolled out on a national scale
Pagos por servicios ambientales (PSA) costa rica
What is the problem with adverse self selection with PES
PES programs are voluntary. Thus the enrolled resources tend to be those with the lowest values in alternative uses,hus, without a careful focus on enrolling ecosystems threatened with exploitation, PES programs may generate little or no additional ecosystem services beyond what would have been provided without PES.
What is the problem with poor targeting with PES
PES programs distribute money and other material benefits. Thus, in addition to conservation objectives, they often have political or social objectives, which may direct payments to households (Alix garcia, Wolf)
what is substituion with PES
When participants enroll in a PES program, they likely will reallocate their labor and capital, including lands and resources not enrolled in PES, in ways to make themselves better off
WHat is non compliance with PES
In principle, PES are conditional: no conservation, no payment. In practice, however, monitoring and enforcing compliance can be expensive, both financially and politically.
What is the problem with paying for the wrong outcomes with PES
In principle, payments can be tied directly to ecosystem service provision. In practice, however, tying them to actions rather than services can yield better economic outcomes and reduce monitoring costs
What are the 2 statements that so far do not rule out PES
No empirical study has yet found that PES increased environmental damage.
• No empirical study has yet found that PES decreased human welfare or increased social conflict.
