Opportunity costs and global justice

Abstract

Abstract This chapter assesses how one kind of conservation burden—opportunity costs—should be understood and shows that our position on this issue has major implications for global justice. It goes on to argue that the notion of opportunity costs must be moralized, and then explains and defends an egalitarian baseline for calculating those costs. Taking this baseline seriously would suggest that many real-world conservation projects send far more modest resources in the direction of people affected by conservation projects than justice requires, and that they are often exploitative in nature. It examines the implications for conservation academics, practitioners, and policy makers.