Should Nature And Ecosystems Be Balance Sheet Commodities?

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Now that Banker's are giving monetary value to nature and ecosystems, can hedge funds be far behind. Deutsche Bank Economist and head of their Global markets division Pavan Sukhdev has brought out a report under a UNEP Financed study "The Economics and Ecosystems Biodiversity"
TEEB . Unveiling the report at a conference in Japan Pavan Sukhdev, economist and the TEEB study leader said: "Natural capital is a massive asset class, and developing nations' biggest asset.For it to be missing from the balance sheet of the nation, or for failures not to be counted, does not make sense."

It seems that the UN has still not learnt the lessons of trying to monetize rain forests through carbon credits and backing the controversial REDD program. They are playing into the hands of the Global Banks, who are now planning to give value to and monetize nature and ecosystems. Are they justified in doing so? Are nature and ecosystems owned by humans alone?


Capitalization of an asset is the first step towards monetization and trade. Today Carbon credits are satisfying this indirect form of trade. In this form of capitalization, an industry gets a right to pollute in the rich nations if it has a requisite number of carbon credits. These carbon credits are normally earned by implementing plantation projects in other parts of the world where the asset value of property is lower. It has been found that a large number of plantation projects are commissioned by the logging lobby who are first cutting down virgin rain forests and profiting from the proceeds of high quality timber and thereafter commissioning plantation projects in such fertile areas and gaining from carbon credits. There has been innumerable evidence of such rogue projects and also how EU is trying to pass off plantation projects as rainforest

TEEB's effort to classify nature and ecosystems into an asset class is much more dangerous step forward. The Deutsche Bank initiative supported by several EU nations is attempting to classify nature and ecosystems in third world nations for capitalization. India is the first nation which has reportedly agreed to this major financial innovative accounting, and will publish its natural wealth accounts by 2015 . Once capitalized, nature and ecosystems as a commodity can be structured and securitized. That is where the politicians with large budget deficits and Bankers and hedge funds come into play. It will undoubtedly be another black day for the plant and animal life which have been struggling against the human onslaught to monopolize nature for centuries.

In our opinion current economic systems must not place an value on "natural wealth and ecosystems" because they are not only owned by humans but by plant and animal life too. Humans with their collective intelligence have proved themselves inadequate to the task of honouring the value of nature as observed by the REDD programme, again a UNFCCC Climate change initiative. Rainforests are still being substituted by plantations, as valuation in the form of Carbon Credits is too tempting for the human race to keep away the profit motive, be it in Costa Rica, Madagascar, Indonesia or Brazil

Frankly we are not against business and commerce. It is perfect to sell and profit from what we create or mass produce but rain-forests and ecosystems have not yet been created by our species. Nor have we been able to protect them through the centuries. So what right do we, TEEB or Pavan Sukhdev or WB or any other like UNFCCC have,to value and monetize them?