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Fundación Proyecto AVE, Luxembourg (2026)

26/08/2026

THE ECONOMY OF THE LIVING WORLD · 2/5

WHAT IF CONSERVATION WERE ALSO A PRODUCTIVE USE OF THE LAND?

For many years, because of the nature of my work, I have travelled across farms and rural estates in different South American countries documenting their flora and fauna. During those visits, I have heard landowners proudly explain the same thing time and again:

Here we produce:
Livestock. Crops. Timber. And so on.

There seems to be a fairly established pattern for understanding what it means for land to be productive.

Expressions such as “the farm is finished” have always caught my attention, because “finished” usually means fully intervened, stripped of much of its original vegetation and profoundly transformed.

On many occasions, I have also heard landowners refer, with a certain sense of melancholy, to the part of the forest they had managed to preserve intact as the part of the property that had not yet been put to productive use.

And that, without question, has been part of the traditional economic logic.

A logic built, to a large extent, on a lack of information, education and policies capable of promoting new ways of creating wealth without necessarily coming into conflict with coexistence with other forms of life.

That is why I have always asked myself:

What if this interpretation is incomplete?

As a wildlife photographer, and as someone familiar with a growing international market interested in experiencing nature in conserved forests and observing birds and mammals within ecologically functional landscapes, I could not help but think that other alternatives exist.

And I am not talking about replacing agriculture or livestock farming.

I am talking about adding another possibility to the land:

a mixed system capable of generating economic activity while conserving biodiversity.

In other words:

adding biodiversity to the productive portfolio of the territory.

A property can preserve natural areas, restore habitats, develop specialised infrastructure, receive photographers and wildlife observers, incorporate accommodation and generate new sources of income.

Seen from this perspective, that hectare that once appeared unproductive can suddenly become part of the farm’s economic model.

And this is where something important happens.

The landowner gains an additional reason to preserve the forest.

Not only because it is environmentally responsible or required by regulation.

But also because that forest becomes part of the property’s productive capital.

This could profoundly change the conversation around conservation.

Because as long as destroying an ecosystem generates an economic return while conserving it represents only a cost, we will be working against the incentives.

The opportunity lies in beginning to align those two interests.

Making nature conservation an intelligent business decision as well.

That is another territory of THE ECONOMY OF THE LIVING WORLD.

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25/08/2026

THE ECONOMY OF THE LIVING WORLD · 1/5

WHAT CANNOT BE MANUFACTURED

A few days ago, I wrote about the Bearded Helmetcrest, an endemic hummingbird of the Venezuelan Andes, and about something that may seem almost disproportionate:

the ability of a small endemic species to make someone travel thousands of kilometres simply for the possibility of seeing it, photographing it, or even just hearing its song.

But behind that example lies a much bigger idea.

We live in an economy where almost everything can be replicated.

We can build hotels. Roads. Restaurants. Shopping centres.

Even entire cities.

But there is something we cannot manufacture.

A species that required millions of years of evolution to exist precisely in that place.

And that makes biodiversity an extraordinary form of territorial advantage.

A biodiverse country possesses assets that cannot simply be moved somewhere else.

An endemic bird of the Andes can only be experienced in the Andes.

An Amazonian ecosystem can only be experienced in the Amazon.

A particular forest, wetland or savanna contains combinations of life that cannot be artificially reproduced.

The opportunity appears when we stop asking only:

what can we extract from this territory?

and begin asking another question:

what kind of economy can we build around what exists only here?

It is not about selling the species.

It is about turning its continued existence into a reason to travel, research, observe, photograph, discover and spend time in the territory.

For many biodiverse countries that need to diversify their economies, this may represent a competitive advantage that is still deeply underestimated.

They possess something the global market cannot manufacture.

Irreplaceable life.

And learning how to generate value around it will be one of the themes of this series:

THE ECONOMY OF THE LIVING WORLD

Photography: Raúl Guáqueta
Heliangelus spencei, Mérida Sunangel, an endemic hummingbird of the Venezuelan Andes.

Text: Fabian Passariello

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24/08/2026

THE ECONOMY OF THE LIVING WORLD · PROLOGUE

The model we are advancing through Proyecto AVE to demonstrate that conserving biodiversity can also generate economic development.

Our central thesis

Biodiversity does not need to disappear in order to generate wealth.
We need to learn how to build economies around its continued existence.

For far too long, we have measured the economic value of nature by asking what we can extract from it.

How much timber?
How many minerals?
How many hectares can be converted into farmland?
How much livestock can a territory support?
How much oil lies beneath the ground?

The logic has almost always been the same:

transform nature in order to turn it into economic value.

But there is another possibility.

What happens if we build economic systems capable of generating income precisely because the forest remains a forest, the jaguar continues to roam its territory, the hummingbird remains among the frailejones, and the wetlands continue to be filled with birds?

This is the conceptual territory of THE ECONOMY OF THE LIVING WORLD and of the model we are developing through WildHide Ecosystem.

A proposal that seeks to transform conserved biodiversity into economic opportunities for landowners, communities and territories through the bioeconomy, specialised tourism, knowledge and infrastructure designed to ensure that natural capital remains alive.

Because the fundamental question is remarkably simple:

Can we make it economically valuable for life to continue to exist?

Throughout this week, I will try to answer that question through five instalments.

Five ideas that distil more than twenty years of work, observation and experience in conservation, environmental communication and biodiversity, and that today converge around a common pursuit:

building economic models in which conservation ceases to represent only a cost and can also become a source of development.

That is what we want to explore through:

THE ECONOMY OF THE LIVING WORLD

Fabian Passarielllo

21/08/2026

WHAT IF CONSERVING NATURE BECAME GOOD BUSINESS?

For decades, we have tried to protect biodiversity by explaining why conserving it matters.

But there is a deeper problem:

as long as destroying nature generates income while conserving it is primarily treated as a cost, we will be fighting against the logic of the economic system itself.

Timber has a price.

Mining has a price.

Converted land has a price.

But a living jaguar, an eagle, an intact forest, or a community protecting that territory can generate enormous value for society while receiving very little of the value they help create.

This is also a problem of capitalism.

And perhaps part of the solution lies in building a different economy around biodiversity.

At WildHide Ecosystem, we are working from a simple premise:

Biodiversity should be able to generate economic value precisely because it remains alive.

A single animal can attract photographers, wildlife watchers, researchers and specialized travellers.

That generates demand for guides, accommodation, transportation, food, local knowledge, monitoring, jobs and services.

The visitor leaves.

The asset remains.

And it can generate value again.

We are beginning to call this architecture a Living Biodiversity Economy:

Biodiversity → conservation → economic activity → income → reinvestment → more conservation.

But there is another essential condition.

The communities and landowners who safeguard this natural capital should participate economically in the value they help preserve.

That is where concepts such as inclusive capitalism, natural capital and nature finance can move beyond big ideas and begin to become a real economy on the ground.

Then we can talk about impact investment, blended finance, technology or new financial instruments.

But the order matters:

First, living nature.
Then, the economy.
Then, measurement.
Then, capital.

We do not need to find new ways to extract value from nature.

We need to build systems capable of creating value by keeping nature alive.

So the question is:

Can we build an economy in which biodiversity becomes more valuable alive than depleted?

At WildHide Ecosystem, we believe we can.

And we intend to demonstrate it.

17/08/2026

BIODIVERSITY THAT CREATES A FUTURE · 5/5

What if part of international cooperation were used to build economies that gradually need less cooperation?

Perhaps this is one of the most important conversations we need to open.

For decades, enormous resources have been invested in responding to the consequences of poverty, environmental degradation and lack of opportunity.

Many of those investments are essential.

But there is another complementary possibility:

investing in local productive capacities capable of generating income after the initial funding ends.

Training.

Infrastructure.

Governance.

Biodiversity monitoring.

Market access.

Entrepreneurship.

International commercialization.

This is what we envision when we talk about WildHide Ecosystem.

A network in which wildlife photography and specialized nature observation can become engines capable of activating small economies around biodiverse territories.

The hide is only the starting point.

The real infrastructure consists of the people, knowledge, ecosystems and markets we are able to connect.

Our equation is simple:

**Conserved biodiversity

local knowledge
low-impact infrastructure
training
international markets
= economic opportunities linked to living nature.**

This is what we call building nature-based microeconomies.

We do not claim that a model like this can, on its own, solve challenges as complex as poverty, conservation or migration.

But we do believe it can become a concrete component of a new development architecture.

One in which conserving a forest does not mean giving up development.

It means building development around it.

Because perhaps the great challenge of the bioeconomy is not simply discovering how much nature is worth.

It is ensuring that part of that value reaches the people who keep it alive.

That is the horizon we want to explore through WildHide Ecosystem.

14/08/2026

BIODIVERSITY THAT CREATES A FUTURE · 4/5
Making staying an option too.

When we talk about migration, we often talk about borders, migration policies, integration or assistance.

We speak much less about what happens before migration begins.

What happens in territories where a young person simply cannot find a realistic way to build a future?

Migration has extraordinarily complex causes, and it would be absurd to suggest that there is one single solution.

But there is also migration driven by something very simple:

the absence of opportunities.

Perhaps we should add another question to the debate.

What would happen if part of our international investment capacity were directed toward building local economies precisely in those territories people often feel compelled to leave?

This is not about preventing anyone from migrating.

Migration is a legitimate choice.

It is about ensuring that staying is also a viable choice.

That knowing a forest can become a profession.

That identifying birds has value.

That being a guide can provide an income.

That biodiversity monitoring can become a job.

That managing a rural lodge can become an entrepreneurial opportunity.

That conserving wildlife can help someone build a life.

Many countries considered economically poor possess an extraordinary form of wealth that the developed world increasingly seeks:

nature.

Perhaps we should begin transforming that biological wealth into economic opportunities for the people who live alongside it.

That is development too.

That is bioeconomy too.

And it may be one of the smartest ways to invest in long-term territorial stability.

13/08/2026

BIODIVERSITY THAT CREATES A FUTURE · 3/5

A photographic hide should not be understood simply as a structure from which to photograph wildlife.

It can become something far more important:

biodiversity economic infrastructure.

Around a professionally managed hide, guides, drivers, accommodation providers, cooks, farmers, artisans, landowners, environmental interpreters and young people trained in wildlife monitoring can all find work.

And something even more interesting begins to happen.

Knowledge of the territory acquires economic value.

The person who knows where a particular species appears.

Who recognizes its calls.

Who understands its movements.

Who knows when a certain tree flowers.

Who can interpret a footprint or anticipate an animal’s behavior.

For generations, that knowledge has existed without necessarily having a market capable of rewarding it.

Specialized wildlife photography can help create one.

This is one of the ideas we are developing through WildHide Ecosystem.

We do not simply want to install hides.

We want to help build nature-based microeconomies around them:

biodiversity + infrastructure + local knowledge + training + services + international commercialization.

When those elements begin connecting with one another, a small observation point can become the center of a local economic chain.

And then something fundamental happens:

conservation begins to create opportunities.

12/08/2026

BIODIVERSITY THAT CREATES A FUTURE · 2/5

A dead animal can generate money once.
A living animal can generate economic value for years.

The difference sounds simple, but it represents a profound shift in the way we value wildlife.

Think of a jaguar.

An eagle.

A bear.

An endemic hummingbird.

A bird that is exceptionally difficult to photograph.

As long as that animal remains alive and its habitat is protected, it can attract photographers, birdwatchers, researchers and specialized travelers for years.

Every visitor needs services.

A guide.
Accommodation.
A driver.
Food.
Knowledge of the territory.
Logistics.
Specialized infrastructure.

The same animal can therefore generate economic activity again and again.

And this is where an extraordinarily powerful equation emerges:

the better an ecosystem is conserved, the greater its potential to generate income.

That completely changes the relationship between economics and conservation.

Instead of creating value by destroying the resource, we create value by keeping it alive.

That is precisely one of the areas bioeconomy can explore.

This is not simply about photographing animals.

It is about creating markets in which the continued presence of wildlife generates recurring economic value for the people who share the territory with it.

When that happens, conservation stops being only an environmental obligation.

It can also become an economically intelligent decision.

11/08/2026

BIODIVERSITY THAT CREATES A FUTURE · 1/5

How can a territory be extraordinarily rich in biodiversity and, at the same time, offer so few economic opportunities to the people who live there?

It is a paradox we see again and again.

Extraordinary forests.
Unique birds.
Large mammals.
Landscapes capable of attracting visitors from all over the world.

And around them, rural communities with limited employment, young people who must leave to find opportunities, and ecosystems under increasing pressure.

Perhaps part of the problem lies in the way we understand wealth.

For far too long, we have considered economically valuable what we can extract from a territory: timber, minerals, land, wildlife or raw materials.

But what would happen if we began building economies whose main asset was precisely keeping biodiversity alive and ecosystems intact?

Wildlife photography and specialized wildlife observation offer an interesting clue.

A photographer who travels in search of a species needs accommodation, food, transportation, guides, local knowledge, logistics and infrastructure.

In other words:

biodiversity can activate an economic value chain.

Perhaps we should stop asking only how much it costs to conserve nature.

And start asking:

how much development can well-conserved nature generate?

This week, I want to share a few reflections on this idea and on the model we are developing through WildHide Ecosystem.

Because there may be an economy still largely unexplored, walking, flying and growing within our ecosystems.

29/07/2026

Serie: Economías que conservan | 1 de 3

La Amazonía no necesita solamente financiación

El expresidente de Colombia, Iván Duque, planteó recientemente una paradoja tan evidente como incómoda:

La Amazonía es un activo climático global. El mundo entero se beneficia de sus servicios ambientales, pero las comunidades que la protegen continúan recibiendo un retorno económico insuficiente.

Esa contradicción resume uno de los grandes desafíos de la conservación contemporánea.

Durante décadas hemos insistido, con razón, en proteger los bosques, reducir la deforestación, restaurar ecosistemas y movilizar financiación internacional.

Pero todavía queda una pregunta decisiva:

¿Cómo convertir la conservación en una actividad económica estable, capaz de generar empleo, ingresos y oportunidades para quienes habitan los territorios que queremos proteger?

Las donaciones, subvenciones y proyectos internacionales son indispensables para iniciar procesos y desarrollar capacidades.

Sin embargo, si al finalizar cada programa desaparece también la actividad económica, el territorio vuelve a quedar expuesto a las mismas presiones: minería, tala, expansión agrícola, caza y migración forzada.

Un bosque protegido únicamente mientras existe un subsidio continúa siendo vulnerable.

Un bosque que genera empleo, conocimiento, identidad territorial e ingresos sostenibles tiene mayores posibilidades de permanecer en pie.

La verdadera transformación comienza cuando la conservación deja de ser percibida exclusivamente como un coste y pasa a convertirse en una infraestructura productiva del territorio.

No se trata de mercantilizar la naturaleza.

Se trata de reconocer que la biodiversidad viva puede producir valor económico permanente sin necesidad de ser destruida.

En la próxima entrega explicaré cómo, desde Proyecto AVE, estamos intentando convertir esta idea en un modelo operativo.

Fundación Proyecto AVE

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