Measuring Nature for Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery

The Measuring Wealth to Promote Sustainable Development Project argues that GDP is an inefficient measure of national well-being and economic health, particularly during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The project promotes a 'comprehensive wealth' approach that accounts for natural, produced, human, financial, and social capital. This framework has influenced Canada's Ministry of Finance in developing a Quality-of-Life Framework. The project is currently expanding its research partnerships to Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Trinidad and Tobago to advance expanded wealth measures within their specific socio-economic contexts.

• Gross domestic product (GDP) is an insufficient metric for assessing long-term prosperity and national well-being because it focuses on the total value of goods and services while ignoring factors such as income distribution, social inclusion, education, and environmental degradation.
• The Measuring Wealth to Promote Sustainable Development project advocates for a comprehensive accounting system that includes five types of capital: natural, produced, human, financial, and social capital.
• The project's work on comprehensive wealth was cited by Canada's Ministry of Finance in an interim report regarding the development of a Quality-of-Life Framework, which aims to create alternative measures of prosperity.
• The project is expanding its application of expanded national wealth measures through partnerships with Mekele University in Ethiopia, Universitas Indonesia in Indonesia, and the University of West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2021). Measuring Nature for Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery. https://www.iisd.org/articles/success-story/measuring-nature-post-covid-19-economic-recovery

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Measuring Nature for Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery. 2021. https://www.iisd.org/articles/success-story/measuring-nature-post-covid-19-economic-recovery.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Measuring Nature for Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery |date=26 August 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/success-story/measuring-nature-post-covid-19-economic-recovery |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2021measuring, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Measuring Nature for Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/success-story/measuring-nature-post-covid-19-economic-recovery}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }