Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural capital: Economics from an ecological footprint perspective
Identifieur interne : 001753 ( Istex/Corpus ); précédent : 001752; suivant : 001754Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural capital: Economics from an ecological footprint perspective
Auteurs : Mathis Wackernagel ; William E. ReesSource :
- Ecological Economics [ 0921-8009 ] ; 1996.
Abstract
This paper argues that perceptual distortions and prevailing economic rationality, far from encouraging investment in natural capital, actually accelerate the depletion of natural capital stocks. Moreover, conventional monetary analyses cannot detect the problem. This paper therefore makes the case for direct biophysical measurement of relevant stocks and flows, and uses for this purpose the ecological footprint concept. To develop the argument, the paper elaborates the natural capital concept and asserts the need of investing in natural capital to compensate for net losses. It shows how the ecological footprint can be used as a biophysical measure for such capital, and applies this concept as an analytical tool for examining the barriers to investing in natural capital. It picks four issues from a rough taxonomy of barriers and discusses them from an ecological footprint perspective: it shows why marginal prices cannot reflect ecological necessities; how interregional risk pooling encourages resource liquidation; how present terms of trade undermine both local and global ecological stability; and how efficiency strategies may actually accelerate resource throughput. Affirming the necessity of biophysical approaches for exploring the sustainability implications of basic ecological and thermodynamic principles, it draws lessons for current development.
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DOI: 10.1016/S0921-8009(96)00077-8
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ISTEX:B07CE69D3D62B0904AEC5246C5ED6E25D419B29FLe document en format XML
<record><TEI wicri:istexFullTextTei="biblStruct"><teiHeader><fileDesc><titleStmt><title>Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural capital: Economics from an ecological footprint perspective</title><author><name sortKey="Wackernagel, Mathis" sort="Wackernagel, Mathis" uniqKey="Wackernagel M" first="Mathis" last="Wackernagel">Mathis Wackernagel</name><affiliation><mods:affiliation>E-mail: mathiswa@coacade.uv.mx</mods:affiliation></affiliation><affiliation><mods:affiliation>Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, Priv. Antonio Chedraui Caram s/n, C.P. 91180 Xalapa, Mexico</mods:affiliation></affiliation></author><author><name sortKey="Rees, William E" sort="Rees, William E" uniqKey="Rees W" first="William E." last="Rees">William E. Rees</name><affiliation><mods:affiliation>School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 6333 Memorial Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada</mods:affiliation></affiliation></author></titleStmt><publicationStmt><idno type="wicri:source">ISTEX</idno><idno type="RBID">ISTEX:B07CE69D3D62B0904AEC5246C5ED6E25D419B29F</idno><date when="1996" year="1996">1996</date><idno type="doi">10.1016/S0921-8009(96)00077-8</idno><idno type="url">https://api.istex.fr/document/B07CE69D3D62B0904AEC5246C5ED6E25D419B29F/fulltext/pdf</idno><idno type="wicri:Area/Istex/Corpus">001753</idno><idno type="wicri:explorRef" wicri:stream="Istex" wicri:step="Corpus" wicri:corpus="ISTEX">001753</idno></publicationStmt><sourceDesc><biblStruct><analytic><title level="a">Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural capital: Economics from an ecological footprint perspective</title><author><name sortKey="Wackernagel, Mathis" sort="Wackernagel, Mathis" uniqKey="Wackernagel M" first="Mathis" last="Wackernagel">Mathis Wackernagel</name><affiliation><mods:affiliation>E-mail: mathiswa@coacade.uv.mx</mods:affiliation></affiliation><affiliation><mods:affiliation>Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, Priv. Antonio Chedraui Caram s/n, C.P. 91180 Xalapa, Mexico</mods:affiliation></affiliation></author><author><name sortKey="Rees, William E" sort="Rees, William E" uniqKey="Rees W" first="William E." last="Rees">William E. Rees</name><affiliation><mods:affiliation>School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 6333 Memorial Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada</mods:affiliation></affiliation></author></analytic><monogr></monogr><series><title level="j">Ecological Economics</title><title level="j" type="abbrev">ECOLEC</title><idno type="ISSN">0921-8009</idno><imprint><publisher>ELSEVIER</publisher><date type="published" when="1996">1996</date><biblScope unit="volume">20</biblScope><biblScope unit="issue">1</biblScope><biblScope unit="page" from="3">3</biblScope><biblScope unit="page" to="24">24</biblScope></imprint><idno type="ISSN">0921-8009</idno></series><idno type="istex">B07CE69D3D62B0904AEC5246C5ED6E25D419B29F</idno><idno type="DOI">10.1016/S0921-8009(96)00077-8</idno><idno type="PII">S0921-8009(96)00077-8</idno></biblStruct></sourceDesc><seriesStmt><idno type="ISSN">0921-8009</idno></seriesStmt></fileDesc><profileDesc><textClass></textClass><langUsage><language ident="en">en</language></langUsage></profileDesc></teiHeader><front><div type="abstract" xml:lang="en">This paper argues that perceptual distortions and prevailing economic rationality, far from encouraging investment in natural capital, actually accelerate the depletion of natural capital stocks. Moreover, conventional monetary analyses cannot detect the problem. This paper therefore makes the case for direct biophysical measurement of relevant stocks and flows, and uses for this purpose the ecological footprint concept. To develop the argument, the paper elaborates the natural capital concept and asserts the need of investing in natural capital to compensate for net losses. It shows how the ecological footprint can be used as a biophysical measure for such capital, and applies this concept as an analytical tool for examining the barriers to investing in natural capital. It picks four issues from a rough taxonomy of barriers and discusses them from an ecological footprint perspective: it shows why marginal prices cannot reflect ecological necessities; how interregional risk pooling encourages resource liquidation; how present terms of trade undermine both local and global ecological stability; and how efficiency strategies may actually accelerate resource throughput. Affirming the necessity of biophysical approaches for exploring the sustainability implications of basic ecological and thermodynamic principles, it draws lessons for current development.</div></front></TEI><istex><corpusName>elsevier</corpusName><author><json:item><name>Mathis Wackernagel</name><affiliations><json:string>E-mail: mathiswa@coacade.uv.mx</json:string><json:string>Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, Priv. Antonio Chedraui Caram s/n, C.P. 91180 Xalapa, Mexico</json:string></affiliations></json:item><json:item><name>William E. Rees</name><affiliations><json:string>School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 6333 Memorial Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada</json:string></affiliations></json:item></author><subject><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>Perceptual barrier</value></json:item><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>Structural barrier</value></json:item><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>Investment</value></json:item><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>Natural capital</value></json:item></subject><language><json:string>eng</json:string></language><originalGenre><json:string>Discussion</json:string></originalGenre><abstract>This paper argues that perceptual distortions and prevailing economic rationality, far from encouraging investment in natural capital, actually accelerate the depletion of natural capital stocks. Moreover, conventional monetary analyses cannot detect the problem. This paper therefore makes the case for direct biophysical measurement of relevant stocks and flows, and uses for this purpose the ecological footprint concept. To develop the argument, the paper elaborates the natural capital concept and asserts the need of investing in natural capital to compensate for net losses. It shows how the ecological footprint can be used as a biophysical measure for such capital, and applies this concept as an analytical tool for examining the barriers to investing in natural capital. It picks four issues from a rough taxonomy of barriers and discusses them from an ecological footprint perspective: it shows why marginal prices cannot reflect ecological necessities; how interregional risk pooling encourages resource liquidation; how present terms of trade undermine both local and global ecological stability; and how efficiency strategies may actually accelerate resource throughput. 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Fax: (52-28) 142-343</p></note><affiliation>Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, Priv. Antonio Chedraui Caram s/n, C.P. 91180 Xalapa, Mexico</affiliation></author><author xml:id="author-2"><persName><forename type="first">William E.</forename><surname>Rees</surname></persName><affiliation>School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 6333 Memorial Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada</affiliation></author></analytic><monogr><title level="j">Ecological Economics</title><title level="j" type="abbrev">ECOLEC</title><idno type="pISSN">0921-8009</idno><idno type="PII">S0921-8009(00)X0023-7</idno><imprint><publisher>ELSEVIER</publisher><date type="published" when="1996"></date><biblScope unit="volume">20</biblScope><biblScope unit="issue">1</biblScope><biblScope unit="page" from="3">3</biblScope><biblScope unit="page" to="24">24</biblScope></imprint></monogr><idno type="istex">B07CE69D3D62B0904AEC5246C5ED6E25D419B29F</idno><idno type="DOI">10.1016/S0921-8009(96)00077-8</idno><idno type="PII">S0921-8009(96)00077-8</idno></biblStruct></sourceDesc></fileDesc><profileDesc><creation><date>1996</date></creation><langUsage><language ident="en">en</language></langUsage><abstract xml:lang="en"><p>This paper argues that perceptual distortions and prevailing economic rationality, far from encouraging investment in natural capital, actually accelerate the depletion of natural capital stocks. Moreover, conventional monetary analyses cannot detect the problem. This paper therefore makes the case for direct biophysical measurement of relevant stocks and flows, and uses for this purpose the ecological footprint concept. To develop the argument, the paper elaborates the natural capital concept and asserts the need of investing in natural capital to compensate for net losses. It shows how the ecological footprint can be used as a biophysical measure for such capital, and applies this concept as an analytical tool for examining the barriers to investing in natural capital. It picks four issues from a rough taxonomy of barriers and discusses them from an ecological footprint perspective: it shows why marginal prices cannot reflect ecological necessities; how interregional risk pooling encourages resource liquidation; how present terms of trade undermine both local and global ecological stability; and how efficiency strategies may actually accelerate resource throughput. Affirming the necessity of biophysical approaches for exploring the sustainability implications of basic ecological and thermodynamic principles, it draws lessons for current development.</p></abstract><textClass><keywords scheme="keyword"><list><head>Keywords</head><item><term>Perceptual barrier</term></item><item><term>Structural barrier</term></item><item><term>Investment</term></item><item><term>Natural capital</term></item></list></keywords></textClass></profileDesc><revisionDesc><change when="1996">Published</change></revisionDesc></teiHeader></istex:fulltextTEI><json:item><extension>txt</extension><original>false</original><mimetype>text/plain</mimetype><uri>https://api.istex.fr/document/B07CE69D3D62B0904AEC5246C5ED6E25D419B29F/fulltext/txt</uri></json:item></fulltext><metadata><istex:metadataXml wicri:clean="Elsevier, elements deleted: tail"><istex:xmlDeclaration>version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"</istex:xmlDeclaration><istex:docType PUBLIC="-//ES//DTD journal article DTD version 4.5.2//EN//XML" URI="art452.dtd" name="istex:docType"></istex:docType><istex:document><converted-article version="4.5.2" docsubtype="dis"><item-info><jid>ECOLEC</jid><aid>96000778</aid><ce:pii>S0921-8009(96)00077-8</ce:pii><ce:doi>10.1016/S0921-8009(96)00077-8</ce:doi><ce:copyright type="unknown" year="1996"></ce:copyright></item-info><head><ce:dochead><ce:textfn>Commentary</ce:textfn></ce:dochead><ce:title>Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural capital: Economics from an ecological footprint perspective</ce:title><ce:author-group><ce:author><ce:given-name>Mathis</ce:given-name><ce:surname>Wackernagel</ce:surname><ce:cross-ref refid="COR1"><ce:sup>∗</ce:sup></ce:cross-ref><ce:cross-ref refid="AFF1"><ce:sup>a</ce:sup></ce:cross-ref><ce:e-address>mathiswa@coacade.uv.mx</ce:e-address></ce:author><ce:author><ce:given-name>William E.</ce:given-name><ce:surname>Rees</ce:surname><ce:cross-ref refid="AFF2"><ce:sup>b</ce:sup></ce:cross-ref></ce:author><ce:affiliation id="AFF1"><ce:label>a</ce:label><ce:textfn>Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, Priv. Antonio Chedraui Caram s/n, C.P. 91180 Xalapa, Mexico</ce:textfn></ce:affiliation><ce:affiliation id="AFF2"><ce:label>b</ce:label><ce:textfn>School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 6333 Memorial Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada</ce:textfn></ce:affiliation><ce:correspondence id="COR1"><ce:label>∗</ce:label><ce:text>Corresponding author. Fax: (52-28) 142-343</ce:text></ce:correspondence></ce:author-group><ce:date-received day="4" month="8" year="1993"></ce:date-received><ce:date-accepted day="28" month="5" year="1996"></ce:date-accepted><ce:abstract><ce:section-title>Abstract</ce:section-title><ce:abstract-sec><ce:simple-para>This paper argues that perceptual distortions and prevailing economic rationality, far from encouraging investment in natural capital, actually accelerate the depletion of natural capital stocks. Moreover, conventional monetary analyses cannot detect the problem. This paper therefore makes the case for direct biophysical measurement of relevant stocks and flows, and uses for this purpose the ecological footprint concept. To develop the argument, the paper elaborates the natural capital concept and asserts the need of investing in natural capital to compensate for net losses. It shows how the ecological footprint can be used as a biophysical measure for such capital, and applies this concept as an analytical tool for examining the barriers to investing in natural capital. It picks four issues from a rough taxonomy of barriers and discusses them from an ecological footprint perspective: it shows why marginal prices cannot reflect ecological necessities; how interregional risk pooling encourages resource liquidation; how present terms of trade undermine both local and global ecological stability; and how efficiency strategies may actually accelerate resource throughput. Affirming the necessity of biophysical approaches for exploring the sustainability implications of basic ecological and thermodynamic principles, it draws lessons for current development.</ce:simple-para></ce:abstract-sec></ce:abstract><ce:keywords><ce:section-title>Keywords</ce:section-title><ce:keyword><ce:text>Perceptual barrier</ce:text></ce:keyword><ce:keyword><ce:text>Structural barrier</ce:text></ce:keyword><ce:keyword><ce:text>Investment</ce:text></ce:keyword><ce:keyword><ce:text>Natural capital</ce:text></ce:keyword></ce:keywords></head></converted-article></istex:document></istex:metadataXml><mods version="3.6"><titleInfo><title>Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural capital: Economics from an ecological footprint perspective</title></titleInfo><titleInfo type="alternative" contentType="CDATA"><title>Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural capital: Economics from an ecological footprint perspective</title></titleInfo><name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Mathis</namePart><namePart type="family">Wackernagel</namePart><affiliation>E-mail: mathiswa@coacade.uv.mx</affiliation><affiliation>Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, Priv. Antonio Chedraui Caram s/n, C.P. 91180 Xalapa, Mexico</affiliation><description>Corresponding author. Fax: (52-28) 142-343</description><role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm></role></name><name type="personal"><namePart type="given">William E.</namePart><namePart type="family">Rees</namePart><affiliation>School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 6333 Memorial Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada</affiliation><role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm></role></name><typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource><genre type="article" displayLabel="Discussion"></genre><originInfo><publisher>ELSEVIER</publisher><dateIssued encoding="w3cdtf">1996</dateIssued><copyrightDate encoding="w3cdtf">1996</copyrightDate></originInfo><language><languageTerm type="code" authority="iso639-2b">eng</languageTerm><languageTerm type="code" authority="rfc3066">en</languageTerm></language><physicalDescription><internetMediaType>text/html</internetMediaType></physicalDescription><abstract lang="en">This paper argues that perceptual distortions and prevailing economic rationality, far from encouraging investment in natural capital, actually accelerate the depletion of natural capital stocks. Moreover, conventional monetary analyses cannot detect the problem. This paper therefore makes the case for direct biophysical measurement of relevant stocks and flows, and uses for this purpose the ecological footprint concept. To develop the argument, the paper elaborates the natural capital concept and asserts the need of investing in natural capital to compensate for net losses. It shows how the ecological footprint can be used as a biophysical measure for such capital, and applies this concept as an analytical tool for examining the barriers to investing in natural capital. It picks four issues from a rough taxonomy of barriers and discusses them from an ecological footprint perspective: it shows why marginal prices cannot reflect ecological necessities; how interregional risk pooling encourages resource liquidation; how present terms of trade undermine both local and global ecological stability; and how efficiency strategies may actually accelerate resource throughput. Affirming the necessity of biophysical approaches for exploring the sustainability implications of basic ecological and thermodynamic principles, it draws lessons for current development.</abstract><note type="content">Section title: Commentary</note><subject><genre>Keywords</genre><topic>Perceptual barrier</topic><topic>Structural barrier</topic><topic>Investment</topic><topic>Natural capital</topic></subject><relatedItem type="host"><titleInfo><title>Ecological Economics</title></titleInfo><titleInfo type="abbreviated"><title>ECOLEC</title></titleInfo><genre type="journal">journal</genre><originInfo><dateIssued encoding="w3cdtf">199701</dateIssued></originInfo><identifier type="ISSN">0921-8009</identifier><identifier type="PII">S0921-8009(00)X0023-7</identifier><part><date>199701</date><detail type="volume"><number>20</number><caption>vol.</caption></detail><detail type="issue"><number>1</number><caption>no.</caption></detail><extent unit="issue pages"><start>1</start><end>103</end></extent><extent unit="pages"><start>3</start><end>24</end></extent></part></relatedItem><identifier type="istex">B07CE69D3D62B0904AEC5246C5ED6E25D419B29F</identifier><identifier type="DOI">10.1016/S0921-8009(96)00077-8</identifier><identifier type="PII">S0921-8009(96)00077-8</identifier><recordInfo><recordContentSource>ELSEVIER</recordContentSource></recordInfo></mods></metadata></istex></record>Pour manipuler ce document sous Unix (Dilib)
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