by Guest

contribution by Kirsty Wright

The UK government, together with its friends in the financial industry and the World Bank, hosted a joint event last week on ‘natural capital’.

It was, I imagine, expected to be one of Nick Clegg’s key moments at the summit. But as Clegg began his speech, WDM campaigner Sarah Reader stood up to initiate her own Great Nature Sale.

Why the opposition? The UK’s ‘natural capital’ agenda is being sold as an attempt to make sure we protect nature, by putting a price tag on it. Whilst the idea of ‘valuing’ nature sounds positive, this approach makes the grave mistake of confusing value with price.

History shows us that these kinds of approaches do not work.

Take, for example, the case in Uganda where 22,000 people were evicted from their land at gunpoint in 2011 to allow UK firm New Forests Company to plant trees for carbon credits.

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