Spatializing oil and gas subsidies in endangered caribou habitat: Identifying political‐economic drivers of defaunation

Abstract

Reforming environmentally harmful subsidies is an international priority under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Research that links industrial subsidies to negative ecological impacts, however, is limited. This paper contributes to the emerging agenda of global “subsidy accountability” research by linking oil and gas subsidies to the decline of endangered caribou herds in British Columbia, Canada. While existing research concretely attributes the decline of caribou herds to industrial activity, including oil and gas development, we suggest there is a need to identify the political‐economic structures which drive ongoing industrial development in caribou habitat, including public subsidies. We use government data to map oil and gas wells in critical caribou habitat and determine how many are run by operators receiving provincial fossil fuel “royalty credits”. Ultimately, we find that 1678, or 54%, of oil and gas wells located within critical caribou habitat are run by companies that have received benefits from one or both of BC's largest royalty credit programs. This paper points to the need for further analysis of subsidies as indirect drivers of biodiversity loss on a global scale, as well as increased emphasis on political‐economic drivers in conservation research. It also highlights the obstacles to implementing appropriate conservation solutions in political‐economic contexts dominated by resource extraction.