A new global tool to track how people and planet thrive together

The paper, titled “An Aspirational Approach to Planetary Futures,” is the result of a groundbreaking international collaboration led by the United Nations Development Programme and researchers from around the world, including professor Laura Pereira, from the University of the Witwatersrand’s Global Change Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

The team calls for the creation of a “Nature Relationship Index” to sit alongside the Human Development Index (HDI). The aim is to track how countries are improving human relationships with the rest of life on Earth, including a thriving and accessible nature, using natural resources responsibly, and protecting ecosystems – turning these into measurable goals for progress.

“The way we currently measure development often ignores the health of our ecosystems and how they contribute to human wellbeing,” says Pereira. “The Nature Relationship Index offers a new way of understanding whether a country is truly on a sustainable path, especially in terms of how it uses and protects its natural resources for achieving wellbeing. We thrive when nature thrives.”

Shift in narratives

The Nature Relationship Index is being developed with the aim of debuting in the 2026 Human Development Report, with the long-term goal of regular country-level updates, just like the HDI. The index would assess countries using three dimensions:

• Nature is Thriving and Accessible: Are there healthy natural environments that people can enjoy?
• Nature is Used with Care: Are natural resources being used in ways that minimise harm?
• Nature is Safeguarded: Are there effective laws and public investments to protect ecosystems?

Rather than leaning solely on fear-driven warnings of environmental doom, the paper urges a shift to storytelling and strategies grounded in human potential—our shared aspirations for clean air, thriving wildlife, green spaces for everyone, and connection. These, the authors argue, are powerful tools for unlocking global action.

“What we’re proposing is a shift from narratives of environmental harm and failure to stories and evidence that our societies have the capabilities to produce better futures for all life on Earth – and that in many ways we already have. By expanding human development to include healthy relationships among people and the rest of life on Earth, we hope to motivate whole new levels of collaboration and innovation across the planet,” said Erle Ellis, lead author of the paper and professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Oxford Martin School Fellow at the University of Oxford.

The article urges governments, communities, and researchers around the world to take part in shaping and testing the index.