Transcending capitalism growth strategies for biodiversity conservation

Abstract

The search of unlimited economic growth to fuel capitalism's metabolism has profoundly transformed a large portion of the Earth. The derived environmental destruction has led to a biodiversity loss at an unprecedented rate. Following the large-scale losses of habitats and species, it was recognized that biodiversity is crucial in maintaining ecosystems. Since the 1970s a global sustainability agenda was set to develop different types of sustainable development (SD) related milestones, including Green-Blue Economic Growth which despite not specifically addressing the biodiversity issues served to reinforce the idea that economic development based on profit is compatible with our planet's ecology. Only after biodiversity literature became mainstream in the early 2000s a global biodiversity agenda was implemented. The agenda highlights biodiversity conservation as a major international challenge and finally recognizes that the main drivers for biodiversity loss derive from economic activities. Much alike pre-, the post-2000 biodiversity agendas, including the 2030 Agenda for SD and post-2020 Convention on Biological Diversity Global Strategy Framework, are based on SD principles, and do not consider the negative impacts of growth-oriented strategies on biodiversity. As a result, the global biodiversity conservation priorities are governed by the biodiversity's economic value and its assumed contribution to people's welfare. While pointing to a body of empirical evidence that unlimited economic growth is the main driver of biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene, we strongly argue for sustainable degrowth and a fundamental shift in societal values. An equitable downscaling of the physical economy can improve ecological conditions, reducing biodiversity loss, while enhancing our well-being. This paper attempts to reinforce the debate on the contradictions between growth and biodiversity within the biology conservation literature, as well as invite scholars to engage in this discussion to reverse the biodiversity crisis searching and applying alternative strategies.