SYMPOSIUM: Private Investments in Nature Conservation, 20 October

INVITATION FOR A SYMPOSIUM

PRIVATE INVESTMENTS IN NATURE CONSERVATION: STUDYING MOTIVES AND BENEFITS

Date: October 20^th, 2014

Time: 09.00 – 16.00 hours

Venue: University of Cape Town, Department of Environmental & Geographical Science (room to be announced)

Organizers: Maano Ramutsindela (UCT) & Marja Spierenburg (VU Amsterdam)

Nature conservation has long been considered to be incompatible with the interests of the private (profit) sector and was deemed the prerogative of the state. This view changed from the mid-1980s onwards when the focus shifted from species protection to sustainable development. Increasingly environmental organizations started promoting the involvement of private (for-profit) sector organisations in the creation, expansion and management of nature reserves, claiming this would result in increased economic benefits from these reserves, especially through tourism development. Tourism development would increase funding available for nature conservation, but also stimulate local economic development through job creation and in some cases the sharing of benefits with nearby residents.

Most research to date has focused on the perspectives of local residents, nature conservation authorities and environmental NGOs. Little attention has been paid to the perspectives of the private sector organisations involved in nature conservation. We are interested in who the investors in nature conservation are and what the motives are of private sector organisations to become involved in conservation. Are these motives solely focused on business opportunities, or do other factors play a role too? What types of investments are involved in corporate social responsibility? What are investment patterns in conservation and what do those patterns tell us? How profitable are these nature conservation ventures, and how are the risks, costs and benefits distributed among the different stakeholders? We also explore the socio-political context in which private investments in nature reserves take place, more particular the tensions arising from attempts to reform state organizations and the need for social transformation.

For more information and registration, please contact:

Maano Ramutsindela: Maano.Ramutsindela@uct.ac.za

Marja Spierenburg: m.j.spierenburg@vu.nl