Toward a reliable assessment of the environmental sustainability of territories

The Environmental Sustainability Gap (ESGAP) is an innovative tool for assessing the condition of a territory's environmental functions and how sustainable they are. Despite the sparse and fragmented nature of usable environmental data, a pilot study that used ESGAP in New Caledonia has revealed the poor capacity of the ecosystem to neutralize pollutions and the relatively sustainable supply of resources, and capacity to sustain biodiversity and human health. The use of ESGAP makes it possible to suggest improvements in the management of natural capital at the territorial level by highlighting sustainability gaps.