Our intuition tells us that growth can’t be good for biodiversity. Yet, there are ways in which growth helps protecting biodiversity. Perhaps the most obvious is that poorer countries deforest, whereas richer countries afforest (World Bank data 1990-2010, deforestation versus GDP per head). And more generally, there is a strong correlation between income and willingness to pay for biodiversity conservation (bit.ly/1btfuUQ). Likewise, richer countries are more likely to have larger protected areas, stricter regulation and stronger enforcement (bit.ly/1a726lB). Read my opening statement on The Economist’s debate “Is growth good for biodiversity?”: economist/debate/days/view/1011 And feel free to engage in the debate and cast your vote :)
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:17:02 +0000
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