Book(s) 95 of 208

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The use of indicators to gauge human progress is common and well understood. Gross Domestic Product and the Index of Leading Economic Indicators are two well-known examples. Yet, most of the widely cited indicators focus exclusively on economic activity, and even the most progressive of indicators fails to account for key issues of sustainability. The Wellbeing of Nations addresses that shortcoming by combining indicators of human wellbeing with those of environmental sustainability to generate a more comprehensive picture of the state of our world.

The author combines 36 indicators of health, population, wealth, education, communication, freedom, peace, crime, and equity into a Human Wellbeing Index, and 51 indicators of land health, protected areas, water quality, water supply, global atmosphere, air quality, species diversity, energy use, and resource pressures into an Ecosystem Wellbeing Index. The two indexes are then combined into a Wellbeing/Stress Index that measure how much human wellbeing each country obtains for the amount of stress it places on the environment. Sixty-seven colour-coded geopolitical maps vividly portray the performance of each of the 180 nations for all indexes, and the main indicators that go into them. In addition, all data are given in 160 pages of tables, and the highly accessible methodology is described in appendices so that readers can undertake their own assessments.

The Wellbeing of Nations is a one-of-a-kind reference for development and environmental policy professionals, as well as for students and scholars in environmental studies, international studies, and international development. It has been prepared and published with the support of Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), IUCN - The World Conservation Union, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Map Maker, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

THE AUTHOR

Robert Prescott-Allen is a consultant in sustainable development based in Victoria, Canada. He is a member of IUCN’s International Assessment Team and of the Expert Group on Indicators of Sustainable Development for the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
In Conversation: Robert Prescott-Allen

CONTENTS

Foreword
Data Sources
Acknowledgments

Part 1. The Quest for Wellbeing and Sustainability
How far to the good life?; Why new indices?; The Wellbeing Assessment difference; Guide to this book

Part 2. Human Wellbeing
Human Wellbeing Index; Health and population; Wealth; Knowledge and culture; Community; Equity

Part 3. Ecosystem Wellbeing
Ecosystem Wellbeing Index; Land; Water; Air; Species and genes; Resource use

Part 4. Combining Human and Ecosystem Wellbeing
Distances to sustainability; Regional reviews; Aiming for human and ecosystem wellbeing

Data Tables
Appendices
References

Book(s) 95 of 208