Divesting Nature S Capital

Research reports on the economic policy of environmental pollution and abuse in developing countries - includes a historical overview of links between economic growth and environmental protection; examines factors of degradation in the Third World (partic. Political aspects), as well as environmental policies; looks at deforestation in tropical zones, desertification, air pollution and water pollution due to urbanization and industrial development, etc. References, statistical tables.

Taking an eco-socialist perspective, The Ecological Crisis and the Logic of Capital explores the logic of capitalism as a fundamental cause of today’s environmental crisis, in particular the thirst for profit and the capitalist mode of production.

Hard-hitting recommendations for what must be done to manage global natural capital and reverse environmental destruction Natural capital is what nature provides to us for free. Renewables--like species--keep on coming, provided we do not drive them towards extinction. Non-renewables--like oil and gas--can only be used once. Together, they are the foundation that ensures our survival and well-being, and the basis of all economic activity. In the face of the global, local, and national destruction of biodiversity and ecosystems, economist Dieter Helm here offers a crucial set of strategies for establishing natural capital policy that is balanced, economically sustainable, and politically viable. Helm shows why the commonly held view that environmental protection poses obstacles to economic progress is false, and he explains why the environment must be at the very core of economic planning. He presents the first real attempt to calibrate, measure, and value natural capital from an economic perspective and goes on to outline a stable new framework for sustainable growth. Bristling with ideas of immediate global relevance, Helm's book shifts the parameters of current environmental debate. As inspiring as his trailblazing The Carbon Crunch, this volume will be essential reading for anyone concerned with reversing the headlong destruction of our environment.

Divergent beliefs about humanity's relationship to nature collide as the second millenium ends. One belief emphasizes that a distinctive characteristic of humans—reason—enables them to reshape and master nature. Another insists that nature is not so plastic, hence humans must adapt to nature and render development sustainable, or even limit growth. "Social ecology" asserts that environmental problems result from institutional hierarchies and suggests decentralized institutions and egalitarian ethics. According to "deep ecology" such problems originate in cultures assuming only humans are worthwhile, thus it stresses the intrinsic value of nature. Feminists are torn between values based on the equality of men and women and ecofeminist values postulating that women are inherently closer to nature than men. Rationality and Nature critically assesses these conflicting cultural tendencies. Waste has been the forgotten element of political economy. Western society has sophisticated methods of financial accounting but does little to account for the losses—financial and human—of waste. Raymond Murphy proposes in this book a theory of environmental debt as a source of capital accumulation. He develops a model of "environmental classes" that helps us to understand the political and economic basis of conflict over the environment. Environmental degradation did not occur on a vast scale until science and applied science were developed. Are they responsible for it and can they be reoriented toward a more symbiotic relationship with nature? Other ways of bringing about a symbiotic relationship are also explored in this book: compulsion, ecological values, ecological experience, and ecological knowledge.

The basic unit of nature – the ecosystem – is a special form of wealth, which we can think of as a stock of natural capital. However, perhaps because this capital is free, we have tended to view it as limitless, abundant and always available for our use, exploitation and conversion. Capitalizing on Nature shows how modeling ecosystems as natural capital can help us to analyze the economic behavior that has led to the overuse of so much ecological wealth. It explains how this concept of ecosystem as natural capital sheds light on a number of important issues, including landscape conversion, ecological restoration, ecosystem resilience and collapse, spatial benefits and payments for ecosystem services. The book concludes by focusing on major policy challenges that need to be overcome in order to avert the worsening problem of ecological scarcity and how we can fund novel financing mechanisms for global conservation.

This book examines why policies and laws intended to protect the environment often do not work. In particular, Gamman addresses the fundamental reasons why efforts to protect natural resources in the developing world generally fail. He describes why environmental initiatives originating in national governments, international foreign assistance agencies, and environmental groups suffer from a dysfunctional decision making process. And he suggests how to improve environmental policymaking by creating partnerships for sustainable development, showing how to do this with a step-by-step negotiation process.

The author, experienced in industry and academia, presents a set of 15 recent review essays which identify and examine critical current issues of environmental management. Topics covered include environmental accounting, economics and taxation, environmental audit and insurance, institutional and administrative frameworks, regional environmental planning, international aid and trade, and the growth of ecotourism. The book concludes with a summary of likely trends for the 1990's. Readable, concise, practical, and well-referenced, these essays will be essential reading for corporate and governmental executives, engineers, accountants, and lawyers with any responsibility for environmental management. It will also be an invaluable resource book for university ecologists and environmental scientists and for anyone concerned with the practicalities of today's environmental problems.