Founding green growth on sustainable resource use

Natural resources contribute substantially to the wealth and growth of ASEAN countries. Yet the rate of natural resource depletion across the region is worrying and may eventually prove unsustainable. The precautionary principle dictates the need for a change in current exploitation practices to avoid triggering irreversible damage to the environment that could have large negative long-term consequences for the economy and human welfare. This means finding ways to halt forest loss and degradation, to promote sustainable fisheries and replenish fish stocks, to reverse the increasing reliance on coal and other fossil-fuel based sources of energy and fully exploit the large potential of renewable energy sources, and to encourage the more sustainable exploitation of minerals. The chapter reviews these challenges, and for each provides recommendations for practical ways forward to ensure that key aspects of natural capital are preserved and that their use contributes to long-term economic growth and improvements in well-being. The development and effectiveness of the array of policies and institutions required will hinge crucially on a set of indicators that monitor the quantity, quality and value of natural resources and that will facilitate the implementation of natural capital accounting.