Rethinking Green Consumerism

Efforts to develop green products deserve support and praise. But in the context of the global economy, sustainable agriculture and consumer actions alone will not be enough to conserve the plants and animals that are most threatened by deforestation. The authors believe that a bold new approach, called conservation concessions, provides a potentially powerful way to expand the green market from its present dependence on products to the broader notion of green services—the opportunity to purchase biodiversity preservation directly.