Special Section: Political ecologies of the green economy. Eds. Connor Cavanagh and Tor Benjaminsen

Sleeping with the enemy? Biodiversity conservation, corporations and the green economy

Author: William M. Adams (University of Cambridge)

  • Sleeping with the enemy? Biodiversity conservation, corporations and the green economy

    Special Section: Political ecologies of the green economy. Eds. Connor Cavanagh and Tor Benjaminsen

    Sleeping with the enemy? Biodiversity conservation, corporations and the green economy

    Author:

Abstract

This article explores the surprising closeness and apparent warmth of the relations between biodiversity conservation organisations and corporations. It argues that in this paradoxical engagement, conservationists are exhibiting an extreme form of pragmatism - a willingness to 'sleep with the enemy.' The article considers the implications of these arrangements using the metaphor of a Faustian Bargain, a deal with the devil to acquire power in exchange for the soul. It considers the lure to conservationists of the logics underlying collaboration in the forms of market-based neoliberal conservation and the green economy in the light of the long-standing tradition of opposition in the face of the destructive engagement between capitalism and nature. It considers the benefits of conservation of its Faustian bargain, and explores its consequences.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation, neoliberal conservation

How to Cite:

Adams, W. M., (2017) “Sleeping with the enemy? Biodiversity conservation, corporations and the green economy”, Journal of Political Ecology 24(1), 243-257. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/v24i1.20804

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Published on
27 Sep 2017
Peer Reviewed