The New Nature Markets Explained to My Grandmother

As the chainsaws and bulldozers continue to move in on nature, a new market has emerged to facilitate trade in biodiversity credits – financial instruments that represent conservation or restoration schemes intended to offset loss of biological diversity elsewhere. However, the science behind offsetting is dubious, and existing offset projects have mostly not yielded positive outcomes for biodiversity and have even harmed the lives and livelihoods of indigenous and local communities. Even as it rakes in lucrative profits for the financial sector, focus on offsetting diverts attention from the changes in regulation, production and consumption required to protect biodiversity.

Written for a popular readership – including lovable grannies everywhere – this comicbook primer explains why the biodiversity credit market is a false solution and points to the real measures that need to be put in place if nature is to be saved.

Print edition:

RM20 (Malaysia)
US$10 (other countries)
(Price excludes postage cost)
To order, please contact Third World Network:

            Tel: +604-2266159
            Email: twn@twnetwork.org