Efficient nonanthropocentric nature protection

Abstract

This paper analyzes nature protection by a social planner under\textbackslashndifferent,utilitarian’ social welfare functions. For that purpose we\textbackslashnconstruct an integrated model of the economy and the ecosystem with\textbackslashnexplicit consideration of nonhuman species and with competition between\textbackslashnhuman and nonhuman species for land and prey biomass. We characterize\textbackslashnand compare the efficient allocations when social welfare is\textbackslashnanthropocentric (only consumers have positive welfare weights), when\textbackslashnsocial welfare is biocentric (only nonhuman species have positive\textbackslashnwelfare weights) and when social welfare is nonanthropocentric (all\textbackslashnspecies have positive welfare weights). Not surprisingly, biocentric\textbackslashnsocial welfare calls for suspending all economic activities. It is more\textbackslashnimportant, however, that both anthropocentrism and nonanthropocentrism\textbackslashnmake the case for nature protection through different channels, though.\textbackslashnOur analysis suggests that one may dispense with the concept of\textbackslashnnonanthropocentric social welfare provided that in the anthropocentric\textbackslashnframework the consumers’ intrinsic valuation of nature is properly\textbackslashnaccounted for.