Backlight: The End Of Cheap Nature

Everything of value is defenseless. That is especially true when it pertains to nature, which we are losing on a large scale at an accelerated rate. For the global preservation of nature there is 300 billion dollars needed, but worldwide there is only 51 billion being made available per year.

Calls are being made to deal with the preservation of nature in a professional manner: to protect nature people literally want to give it a real value.

Our earth is in urgent need of a scenario for the future for not only the preservation of nature but also the management of this. The era of ‘cheap nature’ is over. Our capitalistic exploitation has left nature colonized and depleted. The global ecological crisis should not be dealt with any differently than during an economic crisis. In the United States the national antipode of our Society for the Protection of Nature Monuments has sought the cooperation of banks and financial institutions. Together they now want to eliminate the yearly ‘financial deficit’ of nature. Is this at the cost of something else and what is the yield?

What is still considered to be ‘nature’ in the Anthropogenic, this era with humans as the crucial factor? In the Netherlands humans and nature are both connected on a far larger scale unlike any other place in the world. There is nowhere that can be found without the visible influence of humans. At this time a study is being conducted by the Wageningen University and Statistics Netherlands which is mapping Dutch nature down to the last square meter. The monetary value will then be determined that Dutch nature has for humans, for example via tourism, recreation and agriculture. But how can you determine the value of ‘natural capital’? The challenge: how can we reeducate ourselves from being the ancient masters over nature into dutiful managers for humankind and the nature of the future?