---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 11:28 AM Subject: Privatization of "Nature" : Vocabulary Shift ? To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, " [email protected]" <[email protected]> http://blog.ecosystem-services.org/2012/08/07/sharing-natures-bounty-or-mana... In an article in the Guardian<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/06/price-rivers-rain-greatest-privatisation?cat=commentisfree&type=article>, a UK newspaper, George Monbiot<http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/georgemonbiot>, takes a hit on ecosystem services and natural capital. He finds the current shift in vocabulary very worrying: Nature has become *natural capital* Natural processes have become *ecosystem services*, as they exist only to serve us. Ecosystems (hills, forests, river catchments, etc.) are now *green infrastructure* Biodiversity and habitats are now *asset classes* within an *ecosystem market* He basically argues that all the hype around these new terms and concepts carries with it the privatization of nature. He uses private ownership of land, exemplified by the enclosure of the commons<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclosure_Acts>, as an illustration of that privatization process. ... continued on http://blog.ecosystem-services.org/2012/08/07/sharing-natures-bounty-or-mana... further reference http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/06/price-rivers-rain-great... -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/