Natural resources are the foundation of social and economic development. Over the past four decades, Asia and the Pacific region has accelerated its use of natural resources in order to develop primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, as well as meet the needs of an increasingly wealthy population. While we know that natural resource use in the region is both inefficient and unsustainable, measurement and valuation of natural resource use is still at early stages.
In order to move towards a more sustainable development traditional measures of development, such as GDP must be complemented with measures of the use, production and trade of natural resources, as well as the changing economic value of natural capital and the ecosystem services.
Natural capital
Sustainable management of natural resources is reflected in several SDGs: SDG 12.2 - By 2030, achieve sustainable management of natural resources
The three main areas for the current work on natural capital are:
- Data and assessments, Data collection Assessments of resource use
- Policy - Macroeconomic policy, Sectoral policy
- Awareness raising Capacity building, Awareness raising
In 2015, UN Environment Asia and the Pacific launched a regional database along with an assessment report titles “Indicators for a resource effcient and green Asia Pacific”. This has been adapted into communications materials and a training program on SDG indicators for natural resource use.
Partnerships
For sustainable management of natural resources to become a reality in the Asia and the Pacific region, all stakeholders including policy makers, academia, statisticians and the private sector must work hand in hand.
