NATURE À VENDRE

The report argues that the financialization of nature—transforming ecological functions into tradable units—serves corporate interests by facilitating greenwashing, easing regulatory compliance, and opening protected areas to extractive industries. It details the emergence of a new conservation industry comprising specialized NGOs, think tanks, and financial instruments like green bonds. The document contends that while these mechanisms are presented as solutions to the biodiversity crisis, they often act as a "mirage" of private investment, primarily benefiting corporations through improved credit ratings and a "social license to operate" while continuing environmental destruction.

• The financialization of nature transforms ecological functions, such as carbon storage and water purification, into measurable, tradable monetary units, which allows companies to justify environmental destruction if the economic value of an alternative land use is higher.
• Corporations use the discourse of financialization to reduce the cost of environmental compliance and gain access to protected habitats that were previously inaccessible, particularly for extractive industries.
• Biodiversity offsets and carbon credits are used as greenwashing tools to improve corporate reputations and secure a "social license to operate" following environmental disasters or in controversial areas.
• A new conservation industry has emerged, consisting of specialized NGOs, think tanks, and certification bodies that provide the technical and normative frameworks necessary for nature's financialization to function.
• Major conservation NGOs, such as The Nature Conservancy and WWF, have adopted financialization approaches, often maintaining close ties with the private sector and corporate boards, which the report suggests may stifle critical voices.
• The report claims that the perceived surge in private investment for conservation is largely a "mirage," with actual private flows being significantly lower than public and philanthropic funding.
• Green bonds are criticized for lacking a standardized definition, allowing them to be used for corporate greenwashing and increasing the debt burden of Global South countries instead of providing grants for clean technology.
• Extractive industries, including mining and oil and gas, utilize the "Net Positive Impact" (NPI) and "No Net Loss" frameworks to justify operations in critical habitats and avoid delays caused by public protests.

APA

Hall, R., & Mariën, N. (n.d.). NATURE À VENDRE. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Amis-de-la-Terre_Nature-a-vendre-rapport_FR.pdf

Chicago

Hall, Ronnie, and Nele Mariën. NATURE À VENDRE. Friends of the Earth International, n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Amis-de-la-Terre_Nature-a-vendre-rapport_FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hall |first1=Ronnie |last2=Mariën |first2=Nele |title=NATURE À VENDRE |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Amis-de-la-Terre_Nature-a-vendre-rapport_FR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hallndnature, author = {Hall, Ronnie and Mariën, Nele}, title = {{NATURE À VENDRE}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Amis-de-la-Terre_Nature-a-vendre-rapport_FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }