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Africa could reshape its economic standing if it measured its wealth by Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the former head of Gabon’s sovereign wealth fund argues in a column for Semafor.
GDP has long been the metric by which the world measures economic success, rewarding activities that generate immediate financial returns. But Africa’s wealth encompasses far more if you include its natural capital — such as forests, wetlands, and biodiversity — valued at over $6 trillion, wrote Akim Daouda, the founder of Mwaana, a public-benefit company mobilizing capital for nature-based solutions in the Congo Basin.
“African countries integrating GEP into their economic analyses could reshape global finance,” he said, adding that debt negotiations, investment decisions, and credit ratings would look different if natural capital was properly valued. “Instead of being forced to extract resources for revenue, countries could use ecosystem services as financial leverage.”
Read more about the case for GEP. →
