Paul Collier - The Quest for Prosperity Versus an Ethical Approach to Nature (2010)

Restoring environmental order and eradicating global poverty have become the two defining challenges of our era... A number of environmentalists in the developed world are wary of the spread of global prosperity, arguing that it would wreck the planet. Conversely, in the poorer countries of the world — the bottom billion — many people are wary of environmentalism, seeing it as an attempt by the richer countries to haul up the ladder. So the dilemma is framed, by renowned British economist Paul Collier, in his new book, The Plundered Planet: Why We Must — and How We Can — Manage Nature for Global Prosperity. In a public lecture organized by IDRC on May 27 2010, Collier explored the tension between the restoration of the natural order and the fight against poverty, in particular, how the outcome may affect people in the developing world.