Conservation economy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A conservation economy is an ideal, imagined economy

Economy

An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

in which economic wealth is harvested from a bioregion's

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

local natural resource

Natural resource

Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....

s in a way that meets local communities' needs yet restores rather than depletes natural

Natural capital

Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to goods and services relating to the natural environment. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future...

and social

Social capital

Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...

capital

Capital (economics)

In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...

"In a conservation economy, economic arrangements of all kinds are gradually redesigned so that they restore, rather than deplete, natural capital and social capital...Even in a globalizing economy, diverse bioregional economies that are more self-sufficient in meeting their own needs will be more competitive and less vulnerable..."

The primary agents expected to ultimately transform local economies and move bioregions towards locally resilient and enduring 'conservation economies' are small plus medium sized business owners ('conservation entrepreneurs') who embrace a conservation ethic and take a rational self-interest in maintaining and restoring local ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

"Individuals and organizations that see its potential and acquire the skills to build [a conservation economy] will create ongoing and enduring economic opportunities. Individuals and organizations that continue to depend on the depletion of social and natural capital will face increasingly unpredictable global commodity markets, tightening laws and regulations, new taxes, public outrage, loss of motivation, and many other symptoms of economic transformation"

Key advocates spending many years taking a lead in promoting the benefits of conservation economies and investing in local businesses to help build conservation economies have been the not-for-profit organization, Ecotrust

Ecotrust

Ecotrust is a conservation organization based in Portland, Oregon that works to foster prosperous communities along the West Coast of North America.-History and Programs:...

, (founded in 1991 by economist Spencer Beebe

Ecotrust

Ecotrust is a conservation organization based in Portland, Oregon that works to foster prosperous communities along the West Coast of North America.-History and Programs:...

) and its partners: Ecotrust Canada, ShoreBank Pacific, and ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific

See also