Sunday, February 20, 2005

OPINION/COMMENTARY

PRIVATE INITIATIVES PRESERVE SPECIES

Conservation of natural resources is better left to the private sector, according to a report published by the Reason Foundation.

Michael DeAlessi, Director of Natural Resources Policy, argues that federal oversight of environmental protection is ineffective for many reasons:

* Federal regulations are more process-oriented than results-oriented; for example, the Endangered Species Act has recovered only 10 of 1,300 species over its 30-year life span.
* Public ownership of land, such as National Parks, provides little incentive for individuals to care for it; indeed, one-third of American land is owned by the federal government, but much of it is deteriorating.
* Special interest groups influence the policy-making process in order to create gains for themselves, often at the expense of other groups.

However, private initiatives make all groups better off. When property rights are well-defined, individuals are more likely to care for resources for a future return on their investment. For example:

* Ducks Unlimited, a private organization founded by California sportsmen in 1937, works to restore and improve wetlands to ensure continued populations of waterfowl for future hunting.
* The Louisiana chapter of the Audubon Society earned almost one million dollars in the early 1980s by allowing oil and gas development on Rainey Sanctuary, a 26,000 acre nature preserve owned by society.

Private initiatives show that economic development and habitat preservation can peacefully co-exist, says DeAlessi.

Source: Michael DeAlessi, “Conservation Through Private Initiative: Harnessing American Ingenuity to Preserve our Nation’s Resources,” Policy Study 328, Reason Foundation, January 2005.

For text: http://www.rppi.org/ps328.pdf

1 comment:

Josh Rosenau said...

The argument about recovery rates of endangered species is such nonsense. 1300 species have been designated as in imminent danger of extinction, but they were saved. Without action, most of them would be gone. Fund management and recovery programs and then talk about recovery rates.

Private owners can't guarantee protection across large areas, nor can a private market guarantee protections for species with no known benefits, even if they have commercial potential.