Investing in natural capital: a framework for integrating environmental sustainability into development aid policy

Abstract

Investing in natural capital: a framework for integrating environmental sustainability into development aid policy.

Taking into account  the  magnitude  of  global  environmental  crisis  and  the  remarkable  links  existing  between  ecosystems  conservation  and  poverty reduction,  one  might  wonder  why  environmental  protection  issues  have  received  such  little  comparative  attention  in  the  agendas  and priorities  of  international  development  agencies.  In  this  paper  we  analyze  the  reasons  for  this  unbalanced  situation  and  propose  a socioecologically-based conceptual framework for integrating environmental sustainability as a strategic priority into official development aid
policies. Some paradigms and fundamental principles emerge from this new approach, considering healthy ecosystems as a natural capital that, if properly managed, is capable of producing a rich and varied flow of ecosystem services, upon which it is possible to build a social, economic and environmentally sustainable development process that is also fair in terms of intra and intergenerational equity.