x-raying his boon on The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, Prof Partha Dasgupta stated that we are totally dependent upon the natural world. It supplies us with every oxygen-laden breath we take and every mouthful of food we eat. But we are currently damaging it so profoundly that many of its natural systems are now on the verge of breakdown.
Today, we are now so mechanically ingenious that we are able to destroy a rainforest, the most species-rich ecosystem that has ever existed, and replace it with plantations of a single species in order to feed burgeoning human populations on the other side of the world. No single species in the whole history of life has ever been so successful or so dominant. Plundering every corner of the world, apparently neither knowing nor caring what the consequences might be. Each nation is doing so within its own territories. Those with lands bordering the sea fish not only in their offshore waters but in parts of the ocean so far from land that no single nation can claim them. So now we are stripping every part of both the land and the sea in order to feed our ever-increasing numbers
But consider the following facts. Today, we ourselves, together with the livestock we rear for food, constitute 96% of the mass of all mammals on the planet. Only 4% is everything else – from elephants to badgers, from moose to monkeys. And 70% of all birds alive at this moment are poultry – mostly chickens for us to eat. We are destroying biodiversity, the very characteristic that until recently enabled the natural world to flourish so abundantly. If we continue this damage, whole ecosystems will collapse. That is now a real risk.
Putting things right will take collaborative action by every nation on earth. It will require international agreements to change our ways. Each ecosystem has its own vulnerabilities and requires its own solutions. There has to be a universally shared understanding of how these systems work, and how those that have been damaged can be brought back to health.
This comprehensive, detailed and immensely important report is grounded in that understanding. It explains how we have come to create these problems and the actions we must take to solve them. It then provides a map for navigating a path towards the restoration of our planet’s biodiversity.
Economics is a discipline that shapes decisions of the utmost consequence, and so matters to us all. The Dasgupta Review at last puts biodiversity at its core and provides the compass that we urgently need. In doing so, it shows us how, by bringing economics and ecology together, we can help save the natural world at what may be the last minute – and in doing so, save ourselves.
This was followed by a Panel Discussion on Understanding and Evaluating the Economics of Nigeria’s Biodiversity Led by
~Prof Partha Dasgupta – FRS FBA, is an Indian-British economist who is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and Visiting Professor at the New College of the Humanities, London.
~Pius OKO, Head of Programs and Research, Lift Humanity Foundation and Project Lead at African Coalition for Sustainable Energy Access (ACSEA) Project of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)
~ Chinma George, Chief Executive Officer ClimFinancing Consulting
~ Seyifunmi Adebote is a leading environmental actor leading youth engagements across Nigeria and contributing significantly to youth inclusiveness in the UN, World Bank and other diplomatic institutions. He is the host of Climate Talk Podcast
Amb. Richard Abubakar Umar, Founder Youth Voyage of Nigeria, an Environmental Activist, Greenprenure SDGs advocate and a Commuinty driver