There is deepening recognition that nature is fundamental to the existence and flourishing of a nation’s economy. We, humans, are embedded in Nature for most of our needs. The measurement of our dependence on Nature would help to manage them better. Therefore, measuring the stock of wealth that includes natural capital is key to tracking sustainability and well-being of the nation. The business-as-usual approach is no longer sufficient to deliver sustainable development outcomes and human well-being cannot be measured adequately through gross domestic product (GDP) alone.
The Inclusive Wealth Report (IWR) was launched by the UN Environment Programme among other partners in light of the need to shift to new comprehensive ways of evaluating the capacities and performance of nations. The Inclusive Wealth Index is a measure of a nation’s productive base rather than output or income, where wealth is estimated through the measurement of the stocks and per capita changes in human capital, natural capital and produced capital. Many countries of the world have started adopting and using inclusive wealth to track down their performance and sustainability. The recently conducted Review of Economics of Biodiversity by Sir Partha Dasgupta for the UK’s HM Treasury has strongly recommended inclusive wealth as a measure of sustainability.
The Ministry of Climate Change of Pakistan and the United Nations Environment Programme has released an assessment of the inclusive wealth of Pakistan between 1990 and 2019. This report, titled Inclusive Wealth of Pakistan: The Case for Investing in Natural Capital and Restoration will be launched as part of World Environment Day celebrations globally hosted by Pakistan on the theme of 'Ecosystem Restoration.'
This report utilises the Inclusive Wealth framework by applying it at the regional and national scale for Pakistan. It assesses the trends of natural, produced and human capital during the period of 1992 to 2019, and estimates the total inclusive wealth during the period taking a geospatial perspective.
Impressively, Pakistan’s inclusive wealth increased at an average of 2.3 per cent annually in absolute terms during the period 1992-2019. Analysis of the individual capital categories shows that human capital and produced capital grew at a rate of 2.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively, while natural capital declined negligibly, around 0.1 per cent. However, the last five years have shown evidence of an environmental turnaround, with forests, grassland, sparsely vegetated areas and water bodies all growing in area since 2015. This is likely boosted by Pakistan’s effort on restoration policy and tree plantation schemes as part of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme.
Inclusive Wealth of Pakistan is a great leap forward towards measuring the contribution of natural resources and systems like expanded forest area and the health and well-being of human societies. The Report makes a powerful case for continued improvements in our understanding of inclusive wealth, and therefore, on the crucial role of restoration in the economic decisions of Pakistan. As we embark on the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aiming to protect, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation, this Report complements important restoration efforts underway across the world.
