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POOR
countries like the Philippines should start taking
natural capital or the environment seriously, according
to an economist from the University of Cambridge of
England.
Economics professor Sir Partha Dasgupta said “green
issues” in the economy are not elitist and should be
given due importance, especially by poor nations. “The
local environment matters the most.”
He was
speaking at a forum on Measuring Sustainable Development
held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in
Manila.
He said
that if countries continue substituting their natural
capital for the creation of institutions or industries,
there will be a high possibility of a collapse of the
environment.
Dasgupta
said that while industries and institutions like housing
may increase the well-being of citizens, natural capital
such as the country’s forest cover may greatly suffer.
He said
the belief that species extinction or other
environmental losses may be reversed if countries’
incomes increase is incorrect. “Environmental losses are
irreversible losses.”
He added
that if the
Philippines
would like to measure more accurately its gross domestic
product (GDP) and determine the exact state of the poor,
different weights should be assigned to the rich and the
poor. “[You can] give greater weight on the losses
experienced by the poor group [because] income matters
more for them.”
He added
that if the poor are getting poorer by 1 percent and the
rich are getting richer by 2 percent a year, then the
official GDP growth could only be in the realm of 1
percent.
Dasgupta
said that if the country assigns a 5-percent weight on
the poor’s income and deducts the 2-percent growth in
the income of the rich, there would be a 3-percent
decline in GDP. |
