Nature as an Asset or Nature as a Subject of Rights

Which way for addressing the global biodiversity crisis?

Speaker: Dr Roldan Muradian (Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil)

In 2021 and 2022, two high-level academic reports concerning the way humanity should deal with the fate of biodiversity were published: 'The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review' and the IPBES 'Assessment on Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature'. The former conceptualises nature as an asset, while the latter acknowledges a wide diversity of ways of conceiving of and valuing nature. As an expression of such diversity, for an increasing number of people across the globe, ecosystems should hold legal personhood as a way of gaining protection. Should we address the global biodiversity crisis as a portfolio management or as a rights recognition problem? This talk will consider the clash between these two views.