Bhutan adopts gross ecosystem product nationwide

Bhutan says it is the first country to adopt gross ecosystem product at the national level, pairing the nature-based measure with GDP and gross national happiness. The move, announced during New York Climate Week, is meant to guide policy, finance and long-term sustainable development.

Why it matters: - Bhutan is now using gross ecosystem product, or GEP, as a national measure of value alongside GDP and gross national happiness. - The shift puts nature on the books as an economic asset, not just an environmental concern. - The calculation shows Bhutan’s ecosystem value at $6.2 billion, about twice the size of its GDP. - The approach could shape public investment, financing decisions and conservation policy in a country where hydropower, farming, tourism and climate resilience all depend on natural systems.

What happened: - Bhutan announced the national adoption of GEP at an event during New York Climate Week hosted by the Bhutan Mission in New York. - Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said Bhutan has calculated GEP at $6.2 billion. - Bhutan described itself as the world’s first country to adopt GEP at the national level. - The announcement follows Bhutan’s record as the world’s first carbon-negative country and the pioneer of gross national happiness.

The details: - The Stanford University-based Natural Capital Alliance worked with the Bhutan government to calculate GEP. - The organization is continuing to support Bhutan’s National Statistics Bureau as the country deploys the metric in policy and finance decisions. - GEP measures the value of goods and services that flow from nature to people. - The metric is calculated by multiplying the quantity of benefits received by a monetary measure of value. - Bhutan’s ecosystems support hydropower through glacier- and rain-fed rivers and forested watersheds. - Bhutan’s agriculture depends on healthy soils, reliable water, pollinators and natural pest control. - Bhutan’s tourism economy is built around forests, mountains and cultural landscapes. - Bhutan’s forests and wetlands store carbon, reduce erosion, stabilize slopes and absorb floodwaters. - The official GEP calculation is intended to highlight the role of natural capital in the national economy and open new policy and financial pathways. - The article cites more about this work in Bhutan through Natural Capital Alliance, supported by the Enlight Foundation.

Between the lines: - GEP is part of a broader “Beyond GDP” push that argues economic output alone misses key elements of progress. - The framework gives governments a way to connect ecosystem health to budget choices, restoration priorities and performance metrics. - Bhutan’s embrace of GEP fits its long-running identity as a country willing to measure wellbeing differently from most economies. - The announcement also signals that natural-capital accounting is moving from theory into policy use in multiple countries.

What's next: - Bhutan is expected to use GEP in policy and finance decisions through its National Statistics Bureau. - The country may apply the measure to support sustainable development planning and conservation investment. - Other governments and regions are already using GEP to guide flooding recovery in Italy, forest restoration financing in Colombia, and land and water management in China. - Supporters of the metric are likely to keep promoting GEP as a tool for linking ecosystem protection to economic planning.