Using smart contracts to attract conservation investment

Thesis

The conservation sector is facing a financial crisis. It is underfunded by billions of dollars, motivating conservationists to find alternate funding sources. It has been suggested that attracting private capital in the form of investment could solve this problem. This dissertation explores the question: can smart contracts (computer programmes that automate the transfer of funds and digital representations of objects) be used to attract conservation investment? Exploratory research into what smart contracts can afford to conservation and the creation of a model smart contract using the European Wildlife Bank as a case study were used to answer this question. It is concluded that although technologically possible to attract investment, this application is limited in scale and will not solve the financial crisis. It is recommended that the conservation sector continue to explore emerging technologies to identify more feasible solutions.

Authors: Chesney, C

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-vezvboez4
• Type of award: MSc
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: blockchain; conservation investment; smart contracts
• Subjects: conservation