Conference on 'Beyond GDP- Transitioning into Sustainability' held in Malaysia

A UN supported conference was held in Malaysia, which held discussions on quantifiable factors of well- being like birth weight, sleeping hours, eyeglasses, city birds, teenage schoolgirls etc., that can also determine a nation's prosperity beyond Gross Domestic Product.

Anantha Duraiappah, Director of UN University's International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change said that GDP's limitations as well as the need for broader measures to evaluate societal progress are acknowledged by world's experts on a large scale.

He further suggested that growing inequality within and across nations plays a crucial role in creating social tension and conflict in developing and developed countries alike, therefore, measures are required to attain more equal society and sustainability in a world of human which is driven by changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Zakri Abdul Hamid, a member of the UN Secretary-General's Scientific Advisory Board, said that the world needs a different perspective on progress that also includes balanced and integrated social and environmental indicators.

GDP and other traditional methods will continue to inform country's economic performance but an enlarged point of view is also required to face the challenges of 21st Century, he added.