Tim Flannery, history writer and former Australian of the Year, has hatched a scheme which may enable Aussies to select tracts of rainforest (presumably in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and other areas) via Google Earth and buy them via eBay.
On face value a good idea: prevent deforestation. help the environment.
Beyond the paper thin logic, it would increase the price of land in Papua New Guinea, which would drive native Papuans out of villages and off the land, as they would be unable to purchase land themselves. After all, some poor indigenous Papuans trying to buy an acre to plant some sustenance crops won’t be able to outbid some cashed up Toorak Doctor’s wife.
As per usual, these socialist, centralist mechanisms sound good in theory but the reality leaves the poorest people all the poorer. Like many environmental solutions, the burden is borne by the very poorest.