On the evolutionary stability of the Uruguayan Savanna

Funk, Matt (2011): On the evolutionary stability of the Uruguayan Savanna.

Abstract

Tropical and subtropical grasslands have been the single-most valuable resource throughout the course of human evolution, and, to this point, despite fundamental errors associated with economic theory which suggest otherwise, these rangelands remain amongst the most evolutionarily stable (and thus valuable) assets on Earth. However, given the problem noted above and, in conjunction with the inherently short-term nature of political motivations, these grasslands are being rapidly lost to crop-lands and urban sprawl – and thus it is of little surprise that conservation efforts are most prominent amongst private individuals with long-term goals and dominant Resource Holding Power ($). This brief communique submits that, not only would political leaders serve their nations well by extending long-term economic incentives to those who conserve grasslands, but that, moreover, economic prosperity, food security, and national security may prove ephemeral without such measures.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Long Term Investment Strategy ; Diversification ; Sustainability ; Tragedy of the Commons ; Food Security ; Rangelands
• Subjects: G - Financial Economics > G1 - General Financial Markets > G11 - Portfolio Choice ; Investment Decisions; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R5 - Regional Government Analysis > R52 - Land Use and Other Regulations; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q58 - Government Policy

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