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System of Environmental-Economic Accounting —Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA)Search fields
Description and method logicMethod purposeThe System of Environmental-Economic Accounting—Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) is a spatially-based statistical framework to organise biophysical information about ecosystems, measure ecosystem services, track changes in ecosystem extent and condition, value ecosystem services and ecosystem assets, and link this information to measures of economic and human activity[1].
SummarySEEA EA is a framework that integrates economic and environmental data to describe the relationships between the economy and the environment. The framework identifies and records the stocks of ecosystem assets within a defined ecosystem accounting area in terms of their ecosystem extent and ecosystem condition. Ecosystem Accounts aim to record asset extent and condition at regular intervals (e.g. bi-annually) to quantify changes in stocks of environmental assets (additions and reductions) and to determine longer-term trends. SEEA EA uses internationally agreed standard concepts, definitions, classifications, accounting rules, and tables for producing internationally comparable environmental-economic statistics on the extent and condition of ecosystem assets, the ecosystem services provided by those assets, and the value of those ecosystem services and the underlying ecological assets themselves, to human society. The SEEA EA framework is designed to be consistent and compatible with the well-established international framework for producing Standard National Accounts (SNA) for national economies[2]. The SNA are the accounts from which summary statistics of economic performance, such as gross domestic product (GDP), are produced.
Method logicThe SEEA EA takes a spatial approach to environmental accounting because the benefits a society receives from ecosystems depend on where those assets are in the landscape in relation to the human beneficiaries. Ecosystem assets in this methodology are the naturally occurring living and non-living components of the Earth[2] (e.g. individual blocks of different classes of wetlands, different classes of woodland, grassland etc.). The spatial focus of SEEA EA identifies the location and size of ecosystem assets (e.g. contiguous spaces of a specific ecosystem type), the ecosystem services provided (e.g. the contributions that those ecosystems make to the benefits that are used in economic and other human activity), and the location of beneficiaries (e.g. households, businesses, and governments). For example, the beneficiaries of water filtration ecosystem services are likely located downstream of the ecosystem asset (e.g. wetland or forest) that provides that benefit.
The SEEA EA is built on five core accounts that use spatially explicit data and information about the functions of ecosystem assets and the ecosystem services they produce: 1. Ecosystem Extent accounts record the total area of each ecosystem type (based on the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology[3]) within a specified study area (ecosystem accounting area (EAA)) and track how that extent changes over time. 2. Ecosystem Condition accounts record the condition (using the SEEA Ecosystem Condition Typology) of ecosystem assets at a specific point in time by using selected characteristics (e.g. criteria) at specific points in time. Over time, they record the changes to asset condition and provide information on the health of ecosystems. 3. & 4. Ecosystem Services flow accounts (in physical (3) and monetary (4) terms, aligned with the structure of the SNA) record the supply of ecosystem services (informed by the CICES[4], NESCS Plus[5], and other ecosystem service frameworks) by ecosystem assets (3) and the use of those services by economic units (4), including households. 5. Monetary Ecosystem Asset accounts record information on stocks and changes in stocks of ecosystem assets (aligned with the SNA), valued in monetary terms. This includes accounting for ecosystem degradation and enhancement. For example, the process starts with identifying an ecosystem asset (e.g. a forest; Step 1 above) that can be measured by its extent (e.g. hectares), which can be further described in terms of its condition (Step 2), through indicators that reflect its overall quality (e.g. soil quality). Supply (e.g. water filtration; Step 3) and use (e.g. reduced water treatment costs; Step 4) of services by an environmental asset can then be quantified. The value of the ecosystem asset can also be estimated (Step 5), based on the value of the stream of ecosystem services that the asset is expected to supply over a defined future time duration (e.g. over the next 15 years). Future scenarios for ecosystem service supply and ecosystem service value would have to be defined clearly, and values arising in future time periods would be discounted back to their equivalent present value[6]. Criteria groupings of the method
Environmental assets are grouped by spatial units, including the subnational (state, river basin, protected area, urban, etc.), or national level and across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine areas.
Criteria for assets are grouped under the relevant accounts:
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Criteria by category
Physical and chemicalEconomicSocio-culturalManagement and planningFloraFaunaEcosystem/habitatReviewRecommended userUsers of the accounts include public policymakers and analysts, ecosystem and natural resource managers, private sector businesses, local communities, and other stakeholders
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Case studiesEcosystem Accounts for the Mitchell River catchmentEnvironmental economic accounting for interconnected assets and ecosystem services in the Mitchell River catchment, Queensland: Pilot ecosystem accounts and supporting informationExperimental Ecosystem Accounts for UgandaMonitoring progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development GoalsMonitoring progress towards the strategic objectives of the United Nations Convention to Combat DesertificationMonitoring the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity FrameworkNational Ocean Ecosystem AccountNational River Ecosystem Accounts for South AfricaShifting towards low-carbon growth in Indonesia (Example 2)Links
References
Last updated: 9 December 2022 This page should be cited as: Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2022) System of Environmental-Economic Accounting —Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA), WetlandInfo website, accessed 30 August 2024. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/resources/tools/assessment-search-tool/system-of-environmental-economic-accounting-ecosystem-accounting-seea-ea/ |