Exploring missing links between nature and economy through sustainable development goals (SDGs) Pushpam Kumar Chief, Ecosystem Services Economics, United.

Exploring missing links between nature and

economy through sustainable

development goals (SDGs)

Pushpam KumarChief, Ecosystem Services Economics,

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The 5th CSIR Conference, Pretoria, South AfricaOctober 9, 2015

Embracing SDGs

“A universal, integrated and transformative vision for a better world”

------UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon“The present time invites us to give

priority to actions which generate new processes in society so as to bear fruit in significant and positive historical events.”

---------Pope Francis

1. SDGs and Natural Capital:SDG 1 – Poverty & Natural Capital

• 75 percent of the world’s poorest countries are located in Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 34 percent of the world's extreme poor ($1.25 or less).

• Desertification threatens agricultural production on marginal rain-fed agricultural lands exacerbating poverty and undermining economic development.

SDG 8 – Inclusive, Sustainable Economic Growth &

Environment

1. Moving global agriculture towards sustainable practices is projected to stimulate 200 million jobs across the food production system

2. Reduce GHG emissions from deforestation, curb overexploitation of natural resources, replace ecologically-harmful inputs with ecologically sourced, balanced alternatives.

SDG 11, 12 – Resilient Cities, Sustainable Living &

Environment1. Sustainable Consumption and Production

lifecycles; Resource efficiency

2. Decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth

3. Africa is the most rapidly urbanizing region of the world; Two-thirds of Africa`s projected total population of 2.5 billion people will require urban services by 2063, and Africa needs to be ready

SDG 13 – Climate Change & Natural Capital

1. No continent will be struck as severely by the impacts of climate change as Africa.

2. By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa are projected to be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change.

3. Towards the end of the 21st century, projected sea level rise will affect low-lying coastal areas with large populations.

4. By 2080, an increase of 5 to 8% of arid and semi-arid land in Africa is projected under a range of climate scenarios (TS).

5. The cost of adaptation could amount to at least 5 to 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

1. SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

2. SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Natural Capital in SDG 14 and 15

2. Conclusive Messages of SDGs

i. People, Planet and Prosperity (3 Ps)ii. Interconnectedness of goalsiii. Integrated and indivisibleiv. Decoupling of growth and resilience

of natural capital

3. BAU needs rethinking: Growth unsustainable in SS

AfricaGross domestic product based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita GDP

Adjusted savings: natural resources depletion (% of GNI)

Adjusted savings: natural resources depletion: Natural resource depletion is the sum of net forest depletion, energy, and mineral depletion. Net forest depletion is unit resource rents times the excess of round wood harvest over natural growth. Energy, and mineral depletion is the ratio of the value of the stock of energy, and mineral resources to the remaining reserve lifetime (25 years).

Land Degradation

Dwindling Natural Capital FOREST

Biodiversity Loss

14

4.Change the Compass: Rely on Inclusive Wealth not

Income

15

124 of 140 countries experienced a positive growth in GDP

86 of 140 countries experienced a positive growth in wealth

Growth in GDP and Wealth (in %)

16

Growth in Adjusted Inclusive Wealth index

Key drivers: Natural capital depletion; Population growth, and negative growth rates in TFP.

Consuming Beyond Their Means When TFP, climate change and increases in oil prices are factored in Only 58 of 140 countries experienced a positive growth in Wealth

17

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

IWI per capita PC per capita HC per capita

NC per capita GDP per capita

Year

Per

cent

age

chan

ge w

ith r

espe

ct t

o 19

92

IWI: only an ‘anemic’ 6% in those years

GDP up 50% in two decades

Changes in IW per capita (1992-2010)

South Africa

5. Restoration is Good: Land Management Pays

Value of Cereal crop loss (Mill. of USD/year) due to erosion induced NPK loss (Value of Production Loss)

Benefit Cost ratio over 15 years (of SLM)

Region 2002-2004

2010-2012

BCR

East Africa 7260 22063 4.00

Central Africa 2573 5816 4.62

North Africa 9133 36738 26.35

South Africa 5841 5615 3.16

West Africa 17348 40061 5.45

Africa Total 6.58

6. Paradigm Shift: we can do better!

Internalise cost, making damage unbearable

Demonstrate and capture contribution of nature to economy

Link natural capital with structure of macro-economy

Encourage green innovation and diffusion of know how

Measure Progress, move beyond GDP

Thanks!

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[email protected]