Context:

• Uttarakhand will initiate the valuation of its natural resources in the form of ‘Gross Environment Product’along the lines of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Environment services:

• The term “ecosystem services” was coined in 1981 to attract academics towards this aspect.
• Ecosystem services are the benefits human populations derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem functions.
• The definition is still in the process of evolution.
• In 1997, a group of 13 economists and ecologists showed that at global level the value of ES is about twice as much as the global GDP.
• The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was initiated in 2001, with one of the main concerns of changes that contributed to substantial net gains in human well-being and economic development.
• But these gains have been achieved at several costs:
  • Degradation of ecosystem services,
  • increased risks of non-linear changes and
  • the exacerbation of poverty for some groups of people.

GDP vs GEP:

The Himalayan context

• The Himalayas contribute substantially to the sustainability of the Gangetic Plains where 500 million people live.
• According to the recommendation of 12th and 13th Finance Commissions, grants were transferred to forest rich states in amounts corresponding to their forest covers.
• Ecosystem services represent the benefits humans get: Forests, lakes and grasslands; timber and dyed; carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling; soil formation and productivity; and tourism.
• While valuing ecosystem services, the population size served is important.
• A system to valorise ecosystem services in the Himalayan states of India in a way that is consistent with the national mission on Himalayan ecosystems.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/environment/introducing-gross-environment-product-in-uttarakhand-a-jargon-or-reality--78088

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