Akim Daouda’s view
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has long been the world’s main measure of economic success, rewarding activities that generate immediate financial returns.
But Africa’s wealth extends far beyond that, to include its forests, wetlands, and biodiversity: These natural systems regulate rainfall, store carbon, and support agriculture. Financial markets do not recognize this value. Instead, economic models favor resource extraction over resource conservation. Africa’s natural capital is valued at over $6 trillion, yet much of this is missing from economic estimates.
Ecosystem services, such as flood control and pollination, contribute billions annually, but without proper financial recognition, they are treated as expendable. When forests are cleared for commercial timber, it is recorded as economic activity. But in reality, that results in a loss of long-term benefits like climate stability, clean water, and fertile land. Policies encourage extraction because nature’s ongoing value is not accounted for.
Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) offers a solution. Developed by Chinese scientists in 2020 and adopted by the UN in 2021, GEP assigns economic value to nature’s contributions, creating a holistic picture of a nation’s wealth. In northwestern Qinghai Province, GEP calculations showed that protecting watersheds created more economic value than industrial expansion. As a result, the government redirected billions of dollars into conservation.
African countries can do the same. The Congo Basin in central Africa absorbs 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. For context, in 2023, the nearly 300 million vehicles on US` roads generated around 1.65 billion tons of CO2 emissions.
African countries integrating GEP into their economic analyses could reshape global finance. Debt negotiations, investment decisions, and credit ratings would look different if natural capital was properly valued. Instead of being forced to extract resources for revenue, countries could use ecosystem services as financial leverage.
This is about more than better accounting. It is about economic power.
First, GEP would change the continent’s approach to debt. Countries could argue that by protecting forests and wetlands, they provide services that stabilize economies and climate systems. This would support GEP-backed debt relief, securing better loan terms for nations based on their respective ecosystem value.
Second, credit rating agencies would have to start counting nature as an asset. When Mozambique protects mangroves that shield coastal cities from floods, that is infrastructure investment, not charity. Recognizing these assets could help reduce the tens of billions of dollars that Africa needs in climate adaptation costs by reducing disaster risks and prioritizing prevention.
Third, GEP could unlock new financial tools. The $2.5 trillion global green bond market has largely ignored Africa. If just 5% of that funding shifted to nature-backed African investments, it could generate significant funds for conservation-linked projects, reducing Africa’s reliance on donor aid.
This would mean African countries would be in a stronger position to demand fairer financial terms. If creditors impose economic reforms, African finance ministers should demand ecosystem financing. If developed nations expect African climate commitments, they must pay for the natural capital that makes those commitments possible.
GEP is more than a metric. It is a financial tool. If African leaders use it strategically, they can reshape the continent’s economic standing for decades. The world already benefits from Africa’s ecosystems. It is time Africa does too.
Akim Daouda is the founder of Mwaana, a public benefit company mobilizing capital for nature-based solutions and sustainable development in the Congo Basin. He was formerly the head of Gabon’s sovereign wealth fund.