A New Global Tool to Track How People and Planet Thrive Together

The paper, titled “An Aspirational Approach to Planetary Futures,” is the result of a groundbreaking international collaboration led by the United Nations Development Programme and researchers from around the world, including professor Laura Pereira, from the University of the Witwatersrand’s Global Change Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

The team calls for the creation of a “Nature Relationship Index” to sit alongside the Human Development Index (HDI). The aim is to track how countries are improving human relationships with the rest of life on Earth, including a thriving and accessible nature, using natural resources responsibly, and protecting ecosystems – turning these into measurable goals for progress.

“The way we currently measure development often ignores the health of our ecosystems and how they contribute to human wellbeing,” says Pereira. “The Nature Relationship Index offers a new way of understanding whether a country is truly on a sustainable path, especially in terms of how it uses and protects its natural resources for achieving wellbeing. We thrive when nature thrives.”