Can Blockchain Unlock our Wildlife Wealth?

Can Blockchain Unlock our Wildlife Wealth?
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This is a past event

Part of the Stuff Worth Knowing series at Aberdeen Science Centre

Who owns a whale and therefore has the right to derive an income from it? We cannot assign property rights for much of wildlife around the world and that tends to lead to overexploitation. This 'Tragedy of the Commons' as it is called, means that without strong international agreements on wildlife exploitation our use of it tends to lead to extinction. Even these agreements often fail because they do not consider the intricate social and economic relationships of the communities neighbouring this wildlife. Blockchain was innovated to fix similar issues in complex financial transactions. In this talk we will explore how we might apply the principles of blockchain to wildlife and develop cryptogovernance of these commons. We will talk about the hurdles we face to do so, but also the new avenues it opens to value the ways by which wildlife use and encounter enrich our lives.

Speaker
Professor David Lusseau, University of Aberdeen
Hosted by
Aberdeen Science Centre
Venue
Aberdeen Science Centre
Contact

Free, no booking required