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https://theconversation.com/nature-markets-may-help-preserve-biodiversity-but-they-risk-repeating-colonial-patterns-of-indigenous-exploitation-238579>
"As the latest global biodiversity summit gets underway in Colombia, finance
for the conservation and restoration of nature is one of the key themes of
negotiations.
Global wildlife populations have shrunk by an average of 73% in the past 50
years, according to the 2024
Living Planet report. Consequently, momentum is
growing worldwide to deliver new nature markets, such as biodiversity credits,
to unlock new sources of funding.
Basically, nature markets are systems of exchange that match demand for nature
regeneration with a supply of nature-positive projects.
But this creates risks, as well as opportunities, for Indigenous peoples.
Without due care for data sovereignty, Indigenous communities may lose out yet
again.
Nature markets could enable Indigenous peoples to fulfill their duties of
guardianship. But such markets could also forge a new form of colonialism,
including enclosure and appropriation of habitats and species that Indigenous
peoples have traditional connections to.
This can occur overtly through formalisation of property rights over species,
ecosystems and associated lands or waters. For example, efforts to reduce
emissions from deforestation (REDD+) in developing countries have been troubled
by instances where Indigenous communities were dispossessed from ancestral
lands, alienated from place-based traditions or excluded from the commercial
benefits of carbon trading.
The current surge for nature markets is attentive to these risks, with
international commitments to avoid such mistakes. Yet the processes of
colonialism can be less overt and more insidious."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
