Researchers are calling for a 'resilience index' to replace GDP as a measure of policy success.

In a paper published on Friday, in the journal One Earth, academics from the University of Southampton, UCL, and the University of East Anglia argue that GDP overlooks broader implications of development and fails to indicate our capacity to operate within the planet's sustainable limits.

The paper proposes a resilience index as a more relevant gauge for contemporary times, in light of escalating concerns over resource utilisation on our finite planet, along with the accumulating challenges of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change.

This has led scientists to propose a 'safe operating space', ensuring a robust social foundation for humanity while maintaining sustainable ecological boundaries.

The researchers believe that a resilience index can help policymakers navigate this safe operating space.

The University of Southampton has developed a model to index the resilience of England's coastal communities, allowing decision-makers to prioritise different areas like human health, economic loss, or ecological degradation.

This enables local authorities, businesses, and communities to influence how resilience is measured based on their specific needs, providing a comprehensive view of competing interests.

Professor Ian Townend, lead author of the paper from the University of Southampton, said: "Resilience is about the ability of a system to prepare for, resist, recover and adapt to disturbances in order to function successfully.

"This invites us to take a more holistic view, accommodating both human and natural components of complex systems that extend across environmental, social and economic domains."

The team applied a similar method on a global scale, measuring the resilience of 132 countries between 1992 and 2015.

The global index demonstrated a trend towards social progress at the expense of ecological resilience.

The researchers believe such models could enhance or replace traditional performance measures, but suggest further refinement is necessary.

The paper, Framing resilience to manage complex environmental systems, is published in One Earth and is available online.

The research was funded by the UK Climate Resilience Programme through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).