Cash for conservation? Integrating basic income support into biodiversity and climate finance

Abstract

This article outlines the idea of a Basic Income for Nature and Climate (BINC) as a novel mechanism for funding biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation activities. This proposal responds to two important empirical developments. The first concerns growing discussions around cash transfer programs and universal basic income within international development discussions. While these are increasingly implemented or piloted, they do not usually take into account environmental issues including biodiversity conservation. The second relates to market-based instruments like payments for ecosystem services and REDD+ (reduced emissions through avoided deforestation and forest degradation). In practice, these programs have commonly failed to halt biodiversity loss and alleviate poverty. The BINC proposal aims to integrate and transcend these existing mechanisms as part of a broader program of transformative change in conservation policy and practice that foregrounds concerns for social justice and equity.