GEF

Unit 7  |  The Economics of Sustainability 158 and the consumption of resources without taking into account a broad array of factors measuring wellbeing. The most well-known of these is the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures life expectancy, literacy, educa- tion, and standards of living of human populations in countries around the world. Another progressive metric was pioneered by the Himalayan country of Bhutan. Beginning in the 1970s, Bhutan, an Asian country on the slopes of the Himalayas, developed tools to measure Gross National Happiness, taking into account sustainable development, cultural preservation, the health of the natural environment, and good governance. The country of Bhutan uses Gross National Happiness to measure wellbeing. Of course, economic growth has provided enormous benefits, including a substantial reduction of poverty in developing coun- tries such as India, Brazil, and China. However, when economic growth does not consider the health of ecosystems, communities, and individuals it becomes unsustainable. A sustainable econ- omy recognizes that economic growth provides benefits in some situations and causes harm in others and works to enhance the positive effects and minimize the negatives.