Table 3.1
Natural capital endowments, for selected countries
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| Population 1 | Land area | Selected indicators of natural capital | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arable land 2 | Global Environmental Facility (GEF) 3 biodiversity index | Renewable fresh water 4 | Forest area | Estimated value of natural capital 5 per capita | ||||||||
| millions | km 2 | global rank | index value | global rank | km 3 peryear | global rank | km 2 | global rank | $ U.S. per capita | global rank | ||
| World | 6,692 | 130,134,750 | 14,212,000 | … | … | … | 54,111 | … | 40,152,175 | … | .. | … |
| Brazil | 192 | 8,514,880 | 590,000 | 5 | 100.0 | 1 | 8,233 | 1 | 4,714,920 | 2 | 6,752 | 18 |
| India | 1,140 | 3,287,260 | 1,597,000 | 2 | 39.9 | 8 | 1,892 | 9 | 677,598 | 11 | 1,928 | 51 |
| France | 62 | 549,190 | 185,000 | 17 | 5.3 | 48 | 204 | 43 | 156,352 | 37 | 6,335 | 21 |
| Canada | 33 | 9,976,183 | 457,000 | 7 | 21.5 | 17 | 3,472 | 3 | 3,101,340 | 3 | 34,771 | 1 |
| United States | 304 | 9,632,030 | 1,744,000 | 1 | 94.2 | 2 | 3,051 | 4 | 3,034,070 | 4 | 14,752 | 5 |
| China | 1,326 | 9,598,090 | 1,433,000 | 3 | 66.6 | 6 | 2,830 | 6 | 2,054,056 | 5 | 2,223 | 46 |
| Russian Federation | 142 | 17,098,240 | 1,218,000 | 4 | 34.1 | 10 | 4,508 | 2 | 8,085,986 | 1 | 17,217 | 4 |
| Mexico | 106 | 1,964,380 | 250,000 | 11 | 68.7 | 5 | 457 | 25 | 637,172 | 13 | 8,493 | 14 |
| Australia | 21 | 7,741,220 | 494,000 | 6 | 87.7 | 3 | 492 | 21 | 1,632,912 | 6 | 24,167 | 3 |
| South Africa | 49 | 1,219,090 | 148,000 | 19 | 20.7 | 18 | 50 | 95 | 92,030 | 59 | 3,400 | 40 |
Population data are for 2008.
Arable land is land fit for cultivation of
crops that are replanted after each harvest like wheat, maize, and rice. Arable
land data are for 2005.
The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) is
an international partnership that includes 10 agencies: the UN Development
Programme, the UN Environment Programme, the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, the UN Industrial Development Organization, the African Development
Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Fund
for Agricultural Development. (www.thegef.org) GEF biodiversity index is a composite index
of relative biodiversity potential for each country based on the species represented
in each country, their threat status, and the diversity of habitat types in
each country. The index has been normalized so that values run from 0 (no
biodiversity potential) to 100 (maximum biodiversity potential).
GEF biodiversity data are for 2008.
Renewable water resource data are annual volumes
listed in the United Nations AQUASTAT database for the period 2003 to 2007,
with the exception of Canada, which is a long term average for 1971 to 2004.
The estimate of world total renewable freshwater does not include the Antarctic
or Greenland and a number of other small islands.
Value of natural capital is for the year 2000 and
includes energy resources (oil, natural gas, hard coal, and lignite), mineral
resources (bauxite, copper, gold, iron, lead, nickel, phosphate, silver, tin,
and zinc), timber resources, non-timber forest resources, cropland, pastureland,
and protected areas (recreational value, tourism and other existence values).
Source(s):
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d. (no
date), AQUASTAT Database Query, www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/query/index.html (accessed
April 27, 2010). Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics
Division, 2010, special tabulation. The World Bank, 2010, World
Development Report 2010, Development and Climate Change, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2010/Resources/5287678-1226014527953/WDR10-Full-Text.pdf
(accessed January 12, 2011). The World Bank, 2011,
Indicators - Data, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator (accessed January 12, 2011).
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