This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: In her doctoral dissertation, M.Sc.Admin. Liisa Varumo examines the environmental justice of market-based and place-based conservation approaches and how these approaches can contribute to just sustainability transformations in biodiversity conservation.
The range of biodiversity conservation instruments has diversified significantly in recent decades. This development is driven by the need to broaden the funding base and involve more people and organizations in conservation and ecological restoration to halt biodiversity decline. That broader involvement can be seen as a positive development: Responsibility for conservation is increasingly shared with, for example, those who cause environmental harm or local communities committed to restoration.
Conservation efforts are now expected to deliver not only environmental outcomes but also economic and other local benefits. However, these developments often bring new and complex justice-related challenges that deserve greater attention in conservation policy and practice. Examining these challenges and exploring possible solutions form the core of Varumo's doctoral research.
The dissertation is based on four scientific articles. They examine the social acceptance of biodiversity offsets in Finland through interviews and biodiversity offset schemes implemented by international mining companies in Finland and Colombia through case studies. The case studies focus on recognition justice, as the offsets affect local and Indigenous communities in both places.
The dissertation also explores two place-based conservation approaches: the co-management of the Näätämö River in Finland and the recognition of the rights of the Ranchería River in Colombia. The fourth article is an international literature review on environmental justice in market-based conservation instruments. The research shows that experiences of injustice among local communities often stem from limited opportunities to participate, the marginalization of local knowledge and values, and unequal power relations.
Many of these issues are rooted in broader societal structures and institutions that, for example, prioritize economic growth, reinforce the dominance of Western science in conservation and concentrate decision-making authority at higher levels. Although changing such structures is difficult and slow, it is essential for transformative change. "It is understandable that practitioners, such as companies and municipalities, hope that new conservation instruments can be aligned with existing practices.
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