Review and Welcome

Jon Bridle, University of Bristol

The developed world as migratory cuckoos

Our lifestyles also depend on (depleting) distant ecosystems

No such thing as localism

(but there is NIMBYism...!)

Current ecological overshoot mostly due to developed world

consumption

WWF Living Planet report (2010)

Brazil, Russia, India, China

US, Europe, Australia

Africa

SE Asia

“Hidden journeys” and embedded energy

Movement of ideas(Geography I-Spy)

Movement of distant energy and goods

• US fishery subsidies ($27 Billion per year), causing catastrophic damage to fish stocks (and by-catch)

• Fossil fuel subsidies ($650 Billion in 2008); food transport kept cheap, no incentive for alternative energy sources

Hidden journeys remain hidden with the help of trillions of dollars of tax-payer subsidies

Source: TEEB for people (2010)

Private wealth acheived at community cost (“the Tragedy of the Commons”)

(2) Costs $10.8 K per ha just in lost offshore fish stocks; loss of flood defence, fuel wood

Benefits are privatised, but costs are shared across wider community

(1) Generates $1.1 K per ha for the shrimp farmer

Clearing 1 ha of mangrove

“GDP of the poor” is not valued

Poor people rely most directly on local biodiversity for well-being (e.g. 75% of GDP in Indonesia)

Economy ignores this (doesn’t involve financial markets)

TEEB (2010)

Biodiversity loss and social justice1. The world’s poor suffer most acutely from biodiversity loss

(and benefit least)2. They are least responsible for its fundamental causes, and

have the least financial or political power3. Only people alive today can affect the market

Intra and inter generational poverty

Overconsumption vs overpopulation: which is easier to tackle?

The best served have the most power (embedded inertia)And “time of crisis is no time to change the system”

1 of the 99% or

1 of the 10%?

How much overlap between “ecosystem services” and biodiversity? At what temporal and spatial scale?

How much will this approach protect real biodiversity?

REDD+ and Access and Benefit Sharing scheme; value of whole ecosystems

Putting a value on ecosystems

Does engagement behaviour change?

Or do we just want our people to be happier (and consume more)?

Does engagement behaviour change?

Does engagement lead to behaviour change?

The desire to feel normal

(David Shrigley)

What will other people think about me if I change my behaviour?

The desire to feel normal

“Other guests in this hotel choose to save energy by reusing their towels.

If you wish to join them, please leave your towel on the rack”

The desire to feel special...

“Jon Bridle wipes for wildlife!”

Nature is what makes all economics possibleNature is not the icing on the cake