Classifications (Level 1) Thanks for inviting me and for coming today! […who am I? what is my role?] The project is a collaboration of the United National Statistics Division, United Nations Environment Programme, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity It is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This training module will focus on Classifications.

Overview Learning objectives Review of “Level 0” (5m) Level 1 (Compilers) Classifications principles (15m) Group exercise (15m) Closing discussion (10m) (So far only contains Level 1. Could add country examples.) SEEA-EEA: Classifications

SEEA-EEA Training Level 1: Classification Learning objectives Level 1: Understand the basic concepts of SEEA-EEA classifications Learn the steps of classifying national data according to SEEA-EEA classifications Please ask questions and comment during the presentation (as long as you keep it high level = clarification, correction) SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Review of Level 0: Classification SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Tools 1: Classifications Common classifications is one of the benefits of having integrated information in a set of accounts… First you need to classify what you have… SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 0: Tools 1: Classifications What? From SEEA-CF: Land Cover, Land Use Economic units, industry sectors New: Final ecosystem services Why? Accounting needs Consistent and Coherent and Comprehensive: Classifications Consistent: use same classification for same concept Coherent: with other classifications Comprehensive: “Classifications Certify Complete Coverage” It’s useful to start with the same classifications or convert to common classifications… We also use other classifications from the SNA: industry, commodity, sector, activity… SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 0: Tools 1: Classifications Land Cover From SEEA-CF (p.276) Uses FAO LCCS3 (Food and Agriculture Organization – Land Cover Classification System v3) definitions High-level aggregate: May adapt to local situations Used as basis for “ecosystem type” 01 Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) 02 Herbaceous crops 03 Woody crops 04 Multiple or layered crops 05 Grassland 06 Tree covered areas 07 Mangroves 08 Shrub covered areas 09 Shrubs and/or herbaceous vegetation, aquatic or regularly flooded 10 Sparsely natural vegetated areas 11 Terrestrial barren land 12 Permanent snow and glaciers 13 Inland water bodies 14 Coastal water bodies and inter-tidal areas Note “Land Cover” includes terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine. We’ve gone back to the SEEA-CF classifications, since they’re more consistently Land Cover classes (as opposed to mixing land use). SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 0: Tools 1: Classifications Land Use From SEEA-CF (p. 266) Detailed (4-digit level) 1.0 Land 1.1 Agriculture 1.2 Forestry 1.3 Aquaculture 1.4 Built up and related areas 1.5 Maintenance and restoration of environmental functions 1.6 Other uses of land 1.7 Land not in use 2.0 Inland waters 2.1 Aquaculture and holding facilities 2.2 Maintenance and restoration of environmental functions 2.3 Other uses of inland waters 2.4 Inland waters not in use 3.0 Coastal waters 3.1 Aquaculture and holding facilities 3.2 Maintenance and restoration of environmental functions 3.3 Other uses of coastal waters 3.4 Coastal waters not in use 4.0 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 4.1 Aquaculture and holding facilities 4.2 Maintenance and restoration of environmental functions 4.3 Other uses of coastal waters 4.4 Coastal waters not in use This is the best we have at the moment. It bears further development and testing. SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 0: Tools 1: Classifications Services Based on Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) Not mutually exclusive A list of “final” services More detail (4-digit) Does not include “supporting services” (= ecosystem functions) Digits are mine…we’ve compared the CICES to other classifications and have found it to be the most comprehensive… At 4-digits, we get 48 types (and those can be disaggregated by sub-type, such as type of crop or type of pollutant absorbed) Supporting services are considered ecosystem functions since they are not directly used by people… SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 0: Tools 1: Classifications From SEEA-CF: Economic Units Enterprises (business  industry) Households (people and non-corporate business) Government Rest of the world SEEA-EEA adds a spatial dimension: Local Regional National Global Discussion…what classifications are used in your country? (Land Cover, Land use, Ownership; economic units…) (Others? Activities  expenditures…) SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Classification Principles Hierarchical: Aggregation and disaggregation Level 1 Level 1.1 Level 1.1.1 Level 1.1.1.1 More detailed levels must be possible to aggregate to higher levels And the same for disaggregation Classifications can be Hierarchical. That is, data at more detailed levels should add to less-detailed classes. SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Classification Principles Concordance of classifications SEEA CF – Land Cover – 14 Classess National land cover classifications Range from few to many (10 – 100’s or more) Link national/regional classifications via concordance tables Different classifications of the same can usually be linked by way of concordance. That is, one class in one classification may represent one or more classes in another classification. Not many classifications are “One to one”. Sometimes they are “One to many”, “Many to one” or “Many to many”. SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Concordance - Example This is an example from Victoria, Australia where all land cover types were classified to the 14 SEEA-CF land cover types SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Concordance - Example The Australian land cover classification has many more types of “Tree Covered Areas”, which can be added summed up to SEEA Class 06. SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Classification Principles Time stable If a classification changes then all other linked classifications need to be updated Time series data Relies upon being able to use data from different periods with different classifications Prepare ahead Coordination is very important Different classifications across agencies, regions, etc. Classifications should be the same over time. If they change, then you will need a concordance table between the older version and the newer version. If different agencies use different classifications, then you may need to develop concordance tables between different sources. SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Compilation Group Exercise (15m) Situation: Have a land cover database according to national classification Need a summary table by SEEA Land Cover Classification Objective (Groups of 3-5 persons) Classify each land cover type according to SEEA Land Cover Classification Compile totals In this exercise, we will take a national land cover classification and classify the land areas according to the SEEA Land Cover classification.l SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Compilation Group Exercise: Step 1: Classify each type SEEA Land Cover Classification National Land Cover Database The National Land Cover Database shows the total area of land cover types. For example, most wetland types would be classified as “09 Shrubs and/or herbaceous vegetation, aquatic or regularly flooded” SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Compilation Group Exercise: Step 2: Calculate totals SEEA Land Cover Table National Land Cover Database For example, the National Land Cover Database contains four type that can be classified to the SEEA Land Cover Type “01 Artificial Surfaces (including urban and associated areas). These are: Urban residential Urban commercial Roads Mineral excavation areas You could create a Concordance Table, but this is a simple example. SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Is everyone clear on the objectives? 15 minutes group work Please ask questions Results: Report totals Do totals add to national total? SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Compilation Group Exercise: The answers There may have been some disagreement about how to classify some of the national types. For example, Urban park – football fields, may be classified by some as “01 Artificial surfaces”. If we want to understand the ecosystem services from these areas, though, it may be better to classify them as “05 Grassland”. SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Level 1: Tools 1: Classification Take home points Need common and systematic classifications SEEA provides classifications for: Land Cover, Land Use, Land Ownership Economic Units, Industry Sectors Classifications should be: Hierarchical Mutually-exclusive Collectively exhaustive If two classifications of the same concept are different, you need to develop concordance tables Discussion and Questions Does your county have national classifications for land cover, land use, land ownership? Are there different classifications in use? How could they be harmonized? Who sets the standards? SEEA-EEA: Classifications 22

References Further Information SNA 2008 SEEA Central Framework, SEEA-EEA, applications SCBD Quick Start Package (www.ecosystemaccounting.net) World Bank WAVES: Designing Pilots for Ecosystem Accounting Statistics Canada, 2013. Human Activity and the Environment: Measuring Ecosystem Goods and Services 2013. 16-201-XWE. Ottawa: Government of Canada. Weber, J., 2014. Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounts: A Quick Start Package. 77 (Technical Series). Montreal: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Further Information SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (2012) SEEA-EEA Technical Guidance (forthcoming) SEEA-EEA: Classifications

Acknowledgements Materials prepared by: Adapted from: Michael Bordt Regional Adviser on Environment Statistics ESCAP Statistics Division bordt@un.org Adapted from: Advancing Natural Capital Accounting, a collaboration between The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and is supported by the Government of Norway. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/eea_project/default.asp Contact: seea@un.org SEEA-EEA: Classifications 24