Executive summary

A healthy natural environment and the services it provides are fundamental to economic growth and human well-being. This is especially so in developing countries, where natural capital accounts for 26% of total wealth, compared to 2% in industrialised countries. Economic growth based on the unsustainable use of natural resources is no longer viable in a world facing the pressures of a growing population, climate change and increasing risks of food shortages. The OECD’s Green Growth Strategy, released in 2011, provides a framework for growth that allows natural assets to continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which well-being relies.