Friends of the Earth International’s position paper on the financialization of nature

Friends of the Earth International opposes different forms of the commoditization and privatization of biodiversity. Today we are witnessing a new wave of privatization through the application of financial mechanisms. In this context, the interests of large corporations are pushing for reforms in international and national policies to enable their control of biodiversity. It is not the first time they do so: we have already seen similar attempts through the passing of policies that privatize biodiversity itself, and others that promote effectively the same through intellectual property mechanisms that lay claim to genetic or biochemical elements. Today, the aim is to turn biodiversity simply into a financial asset.