Arpana  Giritharan

A few weeks ago, I saw Greta Thunberg live at the launch of the The Climate Book and something that stuck with me, amongst others, was when she said “we are never going back to normal again because 'normal' was already a crisis.” The idea of GDP as a sole measure of how ‘successful’ a nation is, is one such example of a deep-rooted idea that is considered ‘normal’ which has led to growth at the expense of natural resources and human well-being. Moving beyond GDP and focusing on the idea of ‘green growth’ could unlock a host of new opportunities such as job creation, restoration of natural capital, and increased climate adaptation. Policymakers and politicians should explore alternatives of GDP as Sri Lanka forges forward from the biggest economic crisis in its independent history by placing value in what society really envisions as a good life

The debate on whether biodiversity should be economically valued remains highly polarized and a more nuanced contextual approach is required. This method is essential for successful conservation as it calls for integration of biodiversity-related data in policy making and decisions. However, there are barriers to operationalizing this and economic metaphors such as ‘natural capital’ and ‘ecosystem services’ are yet to enter mainstream economic and political decision-making. Although the approach needs to be developed further, it is on a promising step towards striking a balance between environmental, social and economic objectives.