BPS mulls new GDP concept

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) is studying the possibility of including environmental costs in measuring the country's economic growth, in a bid to seek a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of growth and the environment.

"Environmental costs must be incorporated in the measurement of economic growth, to create a genuine picture of growth," Soedarti Surbakti, head of the bureau, said after opening an international workshop here.

The workshop on environmental and economic accounting is being held jointly by BPS and the United Nations Statistic Division.

The five-day workshop aims to provide training for statisticians in carrying out a new environmental and economic accounting system, as well as to provide a forum for an exchange of views between participating countries.

The workshop is being attended by some 40 participants from at least 12 countries and five international organizations.

Soedarti said the current method of measuring gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which does not incorporate environmental costs, was misleading because it did not take into account the environmental damage caused by economic activities.

She said it was time for Indonesia to include environmental costs in the measurement of GDP, as the country's natural resources were disappearing at a rapid rate.

"It is called Green GDP," said Soedarti, adding that Green GDP was expected to become an engine for sustainable economic development.