The Economics of Biodiversity: Practical Solutions or Esoteric Diversions?

The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD)  co-hosted a series of seminars during Michaelmas Term 2011, that will discuss the economics of biodiversity. They were chaired by SSEE Visiting Fellow, Professor Laurent Mermet and Research Assistant, Tony Chappel.

Series Summary: Though they have been around for most of the twentieth century, economic tools for the management of biodiversity (EMIBs) are suddenly widely popular for use in both developing country and developed country contexts. Yet recent experience indicates EMIBs fail as often as they succeed in providing more effective management for biodiversity. What should be the role and place of EMIBs in the management of biodiversity? What conception of action and decision do they arise from? Why do EMIBs succeed or fail?  What are the key factors that determine EMIBs’ environmental effectiveness?  In this seminar series, leading thinkers and practitioners shone a light onto the use context of tools for the economics of biodiversity management.

Biodiversity banking, sustainability and value, Professor John O’Neill (Hallsworth Chair In Political Economy, Manchester University).

The Biodiversity Bargain and what economics tells us about it., Professor Tim Swanson (André Hoffmann Chair of Environmental Economics, The Graduate Institute – Geneva).

Economic valuation and instruments for biodiversity: understanding contexts of use and theory/practice gaps, Professor Laurent Mermet (SSEE Visiting Fellow), Tony Chappel (SSEE), Yann Laurans (EcoWhat, Paris) and Tiphaine Leménager (French Development Agency).

The Yasuni – ITT Initiative: Oil Development and Alternative Forms of Wealth Making in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Dr Laura Rival (University Lecturer, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford).