The great expansion of economic activity since the end of World War II has caused an unprecedented rise in living standards, but it has also caused rapid changes in earth systems. Nearly all types of natural capital—the world’s stock of resources and services provided by nature—are in decline. Clean air, abundant and clean water, fertile soils, productive fisheries, dense forests, and healthy oceans are critical for healthy lives and healthy economies. Mounting pressures, however, suggest that the trend of declining natural capital may cast a long shadow into the future.

"Nature’s Frontiers: Achieving Sustainability, Efficiency, and Prosperity with Natural Capital" presents a novel approach to address these foundational challenges of sustainability. A methodology combining innovative science, new data sources, and cutting-edge biophysical and economic models builds sustainable resource efficiency frontiers to assess how countries can sustainably use their natural capital more efficiently.

The analysis provides recommendations on how countries can better use their natural capital to achieve their economic and environ mental goals. The report indicates that significant efficiency gaps exist in nearly every country. Closing these gaps can address many of the world’s pressing economic and environmental problems—economic productivity, health, food and water security, and climate change. Although the approach outlined in this report will entail demanding policy reforms, the costs of inaction will be far higher.

This report demonstrates that vast opportunities are in place to improve the efficiency with which natural resources are allocated and used in ways that can simultaneously enhance sustainability without sacrificing economic well-being.
That this has not been achieved indicates that there are significant barriers to reform—political, economic, and structural. The pressures on common property natural resources will inevitably escalate over the next few decades, but with the right reforms, governments can help ensure that people and ecosystems are not left more vulnerable and exposed to the consequences of planetary change.
Significantly, low-income countries would be the most significant beneficiaries of these policies, which would allow them to tackle food security, environmental security, and poverty problems simultaneously. Although addressing these challenges will be demanding, the costs of inaction are likely far higher.