In 2013, following the UNEP Governing Council Decision and with the support of the government of China, UNEP began work to share the South’s various experiences and national-level initiatives for transitioning to sustainable and socially inclusive economies. This work culminated in 2015 when UNEP published a report, entitled Multiple Pathways to Sustainable Development: Initial Findings from the Global South, that highlighted four unique national initiatives: Living Well in Bolivia, Ecological Civilization in China, Green Economy in South Africa, and Sufficiency Economy in Thailand.
This report serves to build on that earlier publication by examining four additional approaches that have been adopted at the country or regional level: Circular Economy in the European Union (EU) and Germany, Natural Capital Accounting in Botswana, Payment for Ecosystem Services in Costa Rica, and Gross National Happiness in Bhutan. The purpose is to show that there is no “one size fits all” approach to sustainable development, but rather a range of concepts, methodologies, and tools that can be used, depending on the specific context.