GROSS ENVIRONMENT PRODUCT INDEX (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Uttarakhand has become the first Indian state to launch a Gross Environment Product Index, marking a significant step in measuring environmental performance.

Gross Environment Product Index

• About: The Gross Environment Product Index (GEP) is a novel, integrative metric designed to evaluate ecological development resulting from human interventions.
• Constituents: The GEP is determined by four main environmental factors directly impacted by development activities: air quality, water quality, the number of trees planted annually, and the area of organic soil.
• Formula: GEP index = (Air-GEP index + Water-GEP index + Soil-GEP index + Forest-GEP index).
• Assessment: The GEP provides quantifiable assessments of improvements in air, water, soil, and forest quality.
• Significance: It helps assess the impact of anthropogenic pressure on ecosystems and natural resources and provides a robust method for evaluating a state's ecological growth, capturing various aspects of environmental well-being resulting from human actions.

Gross Environment Product’ (GEP)

• About: It measures the ecological status of a region and evaluates the value of ecosystem services for human welfare and sustainable development.
• Components: GEP includes the value of provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services provided by the environment, contributing to economic and social sustainability.
• Comparison with GDP: In some instances, GEP can exceed GDP; for example, Qinghai's GEP was higher than its GDP in 2000 and three-fourths as large as GDP in 2015.