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Privatised micro-environmentalism may exacerbate social and economic inequalities and deepen polarisation, the United Nations has stated in a new report.
Navigating New Horizons A global foresight report on planetary Health and Humans wellbeing, 2024, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), noted that the threat of increasing commoditisation and inequitable access to nature and ecosystem services will further the concentration of wealth towards the wealthy.
The UN report estimated these effects to manifest around the year 2035. “Privatised environmentalism is defined as creation of private access, enclosed and sometimes artificial habitats that offer stable ecosystem to highly paying members,” it noted.
It further stated that independent of broader planetary decline, these private pockets significantly limit fair and equal access to nature-based quality of life and brush away any shared responsibility of conservation efforts, disrupting norms of environmental stewardship.
The UN identified signals of change which provide a brief summary of factors that may cause potential disruption and severity based on its outcomes from a survey.
It perceived the likelihood of occurrence, intensity of impact, perception score, expected timeframe and regional impacts.
The report stated that the sheer concept of environmental justice recognises access to clean air, water and a healthy ecosystem as fundamental human rights.
However, privatised environmentalism through exclusive enclaves endangers human rights and increases already existing social and economic inequalities.
Though viewed as positive, a number of examples of such private conservation reserves have been found in developed and developing countries with peculiar fauna or ecosystems of interest. But little is known about the success of these privately owned areas in terms of social and environmental outcomes.
“Privatised micro-environmentalism may foster a sense of detachment from the broader environmental crisis, which is already being driven by those in higher wealth brackets,” it noted.
It also expressed that creating and maintaining such exclusive ecosystems may demand high resources and energy, eventually resulting in increased depletion of resources and more pollution.
The report stated that focus on enclosed and controlled environments may also divert efforts to conserve and restore the existing natural ecosystems.
The report presented estimates from previous studies that show less than 25 per cent of terrestrial areas remained untouched by humans is likely to shrink to less than 10 per cent by 2050.
Among other threats to the environment, it mentions the evaluation that three quarters of freshwater areas and more than 50 per cent of marine areas are exploited for food production. It noted that in the degrading environment, biomass for wild animals has reduced by 82 per cent since prehistory estimates and by 2050, it is estimated that humans will wipe out 38 per cent - 46 per cent of all biodiversity measures as mean species abundance.
It urged that without significant and immediate interventions, almost a million out of the estimated eight million species may be pushed to extinction.