Indigenous economics offers alternative to Wall Street's financialization of nature

Putting a dollar amount on a single species, or entire ecosystems, is a contentious idea, but in 2023, the New York Stock Exchange proposed a new nature-based asset class which put a price tag on global nature of 5,000 trillion U.S. dollars. 

This financialization of nature comes with perverse incentives and fails to recognize the intrinsic value contained in biodiversity and all the benefits it provides for humans, argues Indigenous economist Rebecca Adamson, on this episode.

Instead, she suggests basing economies on principles contained in Indigenous economics.

"The most simple thing would be to fit your economy into a living, breathing, natural physics law framework. And if you look at Indigenous economies, they really talk about balance and harmony, and those aren't quaint customs. Those are design principles," she says.

Hear a related Mongabay podcast interview on the connection between nature and financial systems with author Brett Scott, here. We also recently spoke with National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yuyan about what Indigenous knowledge has to offer conservation, here. 

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Image: The doll orchid. Image courtesy of Bhathiya Gopallawa. 

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00:00 Introduction

01:30 The Financialization of Nature

07:35 Indigenous Economic Principles

14:04 Can Putting a Price on Nature Save it?

27:15 Redistribution and Reciprocity

33:15 The Ubiquity of Violence

38:37 The Wealth Gap and Its Implications

41:31 The Power of Shareholder Activism

44:36 Indigenous Economic Systems and Modern Applications

51:57 A Critical Analysis of the Financialization of Nature

01:00:27 Religious Perspectives on Environmental Awareness

01:04:24 Credits