Financierización de la Naturaleza

The document critiques the 'green growth' paradigm and the financialization of nature, specifically the creation of markets for ecosystem services. It argues that these mechanisms, such as biodiversity offsets and carbon credits, do not stop environmental degradation but instead provide corporations with a 'social license to destroy' by allowing them to compensate for damage in one area by protecting another. The report highlights the negative impacts on Indigenous territories, the failure of existing offset programs in the EU and Australia, and the risk of 'devaluation' when economic priorities shift, as seen in Costa Rica. It concludes that these financial tools are instruments for capital accumulation and cost reduction rather than genuine ecological protection.

• The 'financialization of nature' involves redefining nature as a collection of 'ecosystem services' that can be quantified and divided into independent units to generate profit through the sale of rights.
• Ecosystem service markets act as cost-reduction tools for industrial production, providing companies with a 'social license to destroy' by allowing them to offset ecological damage in one location by paying for protection elsewhere.
• The financialization of nature threatens the autonomy and land rights of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, often replacing their control with contractual obligations and property titles held by external investors.
• Existing nature-based offset programs have failed to stop biodiversity loss; for example, in the EU, at least 65% of habitats and 52% of species remain at risk of extinction or loss despite these initiatives.
• Economic valuation of nature is volatile; in Costa Rica, a forest once valued at $60,000 per year for providing pollinating bees for coffee became valueless (or a liability) when the landowner switched to pineapple cultivation, which does not require bee pollination.
• Specific examples of financialization include Brazil's 2012 Forest Code, which allows landowners to buy 'forest restoration bonds' (CRA) to avoid restoring illegally deforested land, and the use of biodiversity offsets for uranium mining in Namibia.

APA

Kill, J. (2015). Financierización de la Naturaleza. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ATI-financierizacion-de-la-Naturaleza-ESP.pdf

Chicago

Kill, Jutta. Financierización de la Naturaleza. Friends of the Earth International, 2015. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ATI-financierizacion-de-la-Naturaleza-ESP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kill |first1=Jutta |title=Financierización de la Naturaleza |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=2015 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ATI-financierizacion-de-la-Naturaleza-ESP.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kill2015financierizacin, author = {Kill, Jutta}, title = {{Financierización de la Naturaleza}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ATI-financierizacion-de-la-Naturaleza-ESP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }