Biodiversity Conservation: Is there a Role for Economic Instruments?
Anthony B Lumby,
The United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 – the so-called Rio Summit – focused
on the implications of the world’s environmental problems for development and
economic growth. One of the key topics
at the Rio Summit, and one of the international conventions arising from it,
concerned the world’s biodiversity. The major objectives of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD), which came into force in 1993, are the conservation
of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the equitable
sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources.
Against this background, this paper seeks to explore
the economics of biodiversity: it attempts to find ways to meet people’s
current needs that are both equitable and efficient and does not diminish the
volume and diversity of scarce biological resources available for future
generations. Accordingly, two key
questions arise in biodiversity economics: how does biodiversity contribute to
economic activity, and what economic tools can be formulated in order to
conserve and manage biodiversity?
In measuring the importance of biodiversity, it is
argued that the concept of total economic value provides a useful (if
incomplete) framework for identifying and defining the different values
associated with biodiversity. This, in
turn, allows for the formulation of a range of economic incentives designed to
encourage biodiversity conservation, including the establishment of appropriate
property rights, market creation, and fiscal instruments (such as taxes, bonds,
and deposits). The paper concludes with
a brief examination of several case studies drawn from eastern and southern