Financialization & biodiversity

The fact sheet critiques the 'financialization of nature,' where natural elements are segregated and assigned property titles to be traded as financial assets. It argues that this process enables corporations to profit from speculation while stripping local communities of decision-making power. The author advocates for food sovereignty, community-based governance of forests, and the use of public funds and taxes for conservation rather than market-based 'false solutions' or offsetting mechanisms.

• The financialization of nature involves the segregation of natural elements—such as water, air, biodiversity, and landscapes—to assign them new property titles, which are then treated as financial assets for capital accumulation and speculation.
• Financial mechanisms and the commodification of nature transfer resource management and decision-making power from local spheres to powerful economic actors and financial markets.
• Community-based governance of forests is presented as a viable solution for protecting biodiversity and fighting climate change, as it strengthens collective rights and prevents deforestation.
• The document calls for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to reject 'false solutions' and financial mechanisms that allow entities to pay to continue polluting.
• Conservation should be funded through public resources, taxes, and the elimination of perverse incentives, rather than through innovative market mechanisms or offsetting, to ensure the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are respected.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2014). Financialization & biodiversity. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Financialization-biodiversity.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Financialization & biodiversity. 2014. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Financialization-biodiversity.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Financialization & biodiversity |date=September 2014 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Financialization-biodiversity.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2014financialization, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Financialization \& biodiversity}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2014}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Financialization-biodiversity.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }