Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Tanker / shipping · United States · 2011–2015

TNC chief scientist urged conservation groups to partner with companies

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

In a 2012 essay, The Nature Conservancy's chief scientist Peter Kareiva and co-authors argued that nature recovers quickly and that conservation should be justified for people. Other conservation scientists objected, and TNC's 2011 partnership with Dow Chemical was reported as a five-year, 10 million dollar collaboration.

What?
Peter Kareiva, Michelle Marvier and Robert Lalasz argued in 2012 that nature recovers quickly and that conservation should work with companies. Breakthrough Journal
Where?
Published in the United States; the essay's examples include Chernobyl, Bikini Atoll and the Gulf of Mexico. Breakthrough Journal
When?
The essay is dated 1 February 2012; the Dow partnership began in January 2011; Kareiva moved to UCLA in July 2015. Breakthrough Journal
Who?
Gained
  • The Nature Conservancy (TNC) — Five-year collaboration with Dow Chemical worth 10 million dollars, from January 2011
  • Peter Kareiva — Moved to UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability in July 2015 and remained senior science adviser to TNC's chief executive UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Lost
  • Bikini reef species — A 2008 study reported 28 species missing from the reef
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The authors argued that conservation should be justified for human benefit rather than for biodiversity's own sake. Breakthrough Journal
How?
Through corporate partnerships such as TNC's collaboration with Dow Chemical, and by framing conservation around people.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

On 1 February 2012 Peter Kareiva, Michelle Marvier and Robert Lalasz argued in the Breakthrough Journal that nature is resilient enough to recover quickly, and that conservation groups should work with companies (Breakthrough Journal).

The essay cited Chernobyl wildlife, a claimed rise in coral species at Bikini, and fast bacterial breakdown of Gulf oil as examples (Breakthrough Journal).

A 2008 study reported 28 coral species missing from the Bikini reef, a loss that sits beside the essay's claim of more species there (no link in the sources reviewed).

Michael Soulé called the approach a radical break from conservation in 2013, in Conservation Biology (no link in the sources reviewed).

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: TNC received about 10 million dollars from BP over the years and gave BP a seat on its leadership council; Kareiva defended the relationship in 2010.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Soulé wrote, as reported by Mongabay, that the new conservation approach would accelerate global ecological collapse.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Tallis and Lubchenco proposed 'inclusive conservation' in Nature in November 2014, with about 240 signatories.
    • None on record Gap: the sources do not say whether the BP or Dow relationships influenced the essay's recommendations.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Researchers

    1. Conservation in the Anthropocene
      Breakthrough Journal · 2012-02-01
    2. Peter Kareiva takes helm at UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
      UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability · 2015-07-28

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Places and local terms

    Conservancy (Kenya)
    In Kenya, land managed by a community or private owners for wildlife alongside grazing, often with outside partners.

    Bonds and banking

    Guarantee
    A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.
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