Don’t ask what nature can do for you

DESPITE the seemingly endless drumbeat of calls to halt the destruction of nature, its decline is increasingly evident across our world. Somehow, the message of impending planetary doom is not enough. In fact, it may be making it harder to change the situation.

We need a new approach to motivating people to create a better future for all of life – human and otherwise – on earth.

At the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report Office, we aim to extend our understanding of development to include the quality of our relationships with the natural world, and to measure and report this progress – or lack thereof – at the national level. We call this new measure the Nature Relationship Index (NRI).

It builds on a proven record of success elsewhere. Thirty-five years ago, the UNDP introduced a new way to determine the progress of nations, the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI reframed development progress by focusing on people’s capacity to lead long and healthy lives, measuring factors such as access to education and standards of living.

Every year, the release of the HDI shows which countries are actively working towards a better future and which are falling behind. It generates impassioned phone calls from leaders. It changes policies. It gets heard.

Now, we need to expand this success to a new index that deals with the rest of life on earth.

The NRI will measure each country’s relationship with nature in three dimensions. The first is the extent to which nations have spaces in which nature thrives and is accessible to people. The second is the degree to which countries use nature with care and respect, without degrading resources or causing harm. The third will measure investments, efforts and commitments to safeguarding species, and maintaining clean and healthy environments.

Taken together, these measures should offer a new vision of progress – one that we can update annually.

The idea that humans can only destroy the natural world is not just false – it is a barrier to motivating people to protect it. To begin working towards a better future, it is necessary to recognise that the capabilities to do so already exist, even if we still need to do much more.

Imagine a world without conservation areas, environmental protection agencies or legal protections for water, air or species. With an ozone layer so diminished by unchecked use of chlorofluorocarbons that a sunburn starts in five minutes.

These are just a few examples of how much worse things would be if human societies were incapable of improving life on earth in major measurable ways. Now we need to work harder, and the NRI aims to help guide us on this journey.

Human societies have a deep history of shaping and sustaining the life that surrounds us. Among the most biodiverse environments are those maintained by indigenous and other local communities. This is the result of practices that have evolved over generations, such as cultural burning, tending wild species and sharing landscapes.

There is much to be learnt from these cultures, but the most important lesson is that it is all about relationships. Good relationships work in both directions. They are not just about taking, but also giving back. That is where many of us – and our societies – are failing.

The relationship between humans and our surrounding environment exhibits ever-diminishing returns, with human gains harming the rest of life on this planet, which will eventually reduce prospects for humans, too.

Nations that make all lives better – not just human lives – can inspire the world to learn from their example. This is one critical goal behind our plan to rank every country in terms of what it is doing for the planet – in the same way we do for human development. By measuring and promoting progress, we aim to harness the earth’s newest force: human aspiration.

The work of creating a better future will always be unfinished. With help from people around the world – experts, policymakers, activists and all those who care – we plan to release the NRI as a new measure of development in the 2026 Human Development Report. Our hope is that by extending our understanding of progress towards a better future, we can bring our planet closer to meeting this goal. FINANCIAL TIMES

The writer is director of the Human Development Report Office, UN Development Programme