1st Edition
Around the World in 80 Species Exploring the Business of Extinction
The world is currently experiencing a sixth period of mass species extinction, and extinction of flora and fauna is caused by a variety of factors arising from industrial activity and increasing human population, such as global warming, climate change, habitat loss, pollution and use of pesticides. Most causes of extinction are linked to corporate activity, either directly or indirectly.
Around the World in 80 Species: Exploring the Business of Extinction responds to the ongoing mass extinction crisis engulfing our planet by exploring the ways in which accounting, business and finance can be used to prevent species extinctions. From Africa to the Far East and from Europe to the Americas, the authors explore species loss and how businesses can stop mass extinctions through greater transparency, and through closer engagement with their investors and wildlife organisations. The book concludes that global capitalism has led us to this extinction crisis and that therefore the mechanisms of capitalism – namely accounting, finance, investment – can help to pull us out. Businesses must urgently address extinction before it is too late for all species, including ourselves.
As the first book to explore corporate accounting and accountability in relation to species on the brink of extinction, this book will be of great interest to both professionals and a wider audience interested in the causes and prevention of extinction.
Chapter 1 Around the world in 80 species: What is mass extinction and can we stop it?; Chapter 2 How can accounting, integrated reporting and engagement prevent extinction?; Chapter 3 A deep ecology perspective on extinction; Chapter 4 Species extinction and closing the loop of argument: Imagining accounting and finance as the potential cause of human extinction; Chapter 5 Recovered species? The eastern North Pacific grey whale unusual mortality event, 1999-2000; Chapter 6 The Natural Capital Protocol and the honey bee; Chapter 7 Extraction and extinction: The role of investors in ensuring the marine health of the planet; Chapter 8 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): An appraisal.; Chapter 9 Extinction accounting by South African listed companies; Chapter 10 Business contributions to extinction risk mitigation for black rhinos in Laikipia, Kenya; Chapter 11 Extinction accounting by the public sector: South African National Parks; Chapter 12 Extinction accounting in European zoos: Reporting and practice of conservation programmes to prevent animals from extinction; Chapter 13 An RSPB perspective on extinction and extinction prevention: How is the RSPB collaborating and partnering with business to prevent extinction?; Chapter 14 Endangered house sparrows and thriving red kites: Do we have useful metrics for sustainability?; Chapter 15 Deforestation risk and the tissue industry in Italy; Chapter 16 Accounting for captive belugas: a whale of a business; Chapter 17 An ecological auto-ethnography of a monarch butterfly; Chapter 18 Accounting for survival of polar bears: an arctic icon on thin ice; Chapter 19 Panda accounting and accountability: Preventing giant panda extinction in China; Chapter 20 Some reflections on extinction accounting, engagement and species
Biography
Jill Atkins holds a Chair in Financial Management at Sheffield University Management School, UK, and is a visiting professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Barry Atkins has a background in script-writing and editing for BBC Radio and TV.
