3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Ecosystem Ecosystem accounts within SEEA revision An EEA proposal Third Meeting of the UN Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting New York, June 2008 Global warming may dominate headlines today. Ecosystem degradation will do so tomorrow Corporate Ecosystems Services review, WRI et al. March 2008

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Whats at stake – human and planetary well being Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Ecosystem integrity (functions, biodiversity, résilience…) Ecosystem services Economy Society Human wellbeing, poverty alleviation Direct drivers of change Climate Change land use, resource use, species, technology

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Application of ecosystem accounting foreseen for… MA follow-up 2015 (in Europe: Eureca! 2012) IPBES, The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Adaptability to Climate Change EUs Thematic Strategy Sustainable Use of Resource (basket of 4 headline indicators) ESEA, European Strategy for Environmental Accounting European Data Centers related to land and ecosystems Beyond GDP (natural K in physical units, inclusive final consumption, full cost of goods & services, of imports...) TEEB, The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity IPES, International Payments for Ecosystem Services National initiatives (accounting, ecosystem assessment, mitigation banking…) Corporate accounting guidelines for environmental liability

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 The economic questions behind ecosystem accounting Risks of unsustainable use of the living/cycling natural capital are ignored: the negative impacts of over-harvesting, force-feeding with fertilisers, intoxication, introduction of species, fragmentation by roads or dams, or sealing of soil by urban development have no direct monetary counterpart in GDP or corporate accounts. The natural capital is not even amortised in accounting books of companies and in the national accounts – no depreciation allowance is made for maintaining ecosystems critical functions and services. The full cost of domestic products is not covered in many cases by their price. This is as well the case of the price of imported products made from degraded ecosystems: their full cost is not covered by their price. The actual value for people of free ecosystem services is not accounted in their final consumption (the market tells: price = zero).

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Amvrakikos, Greece: Wetland management, Water & Fish Accounting for ecosystem costs and benefits at different scales… Global scale National & regional government, European market Action level, local scale Doñana, Spain: Water, Wetland & Strawberries Migratory Birds Flyways, Wetlands & Bird Flu Prevention

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June LEAC/ Landscape Ecological Potential , 1km² grid (Source: Ecosystem Accounting for Mediterranean Wetlands, an EEA feasibility study for TEEB) Change … & accounts for connecting different scales Natural Park of Camargue (France)

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Central role of the SEEA framework Global monitoring programmes International statistics Simplified accounts Global scale, framing & monitoring of International Conventions and markets (IPES) Clearing house on tariffs Beyond GDP Accounting (statistical offices, environmental agencies…) SEEA 2012 Framework National & regional government Implementation by municipalities, agencies, business Guidelines, accounting charts Action level, local scale, business, projects, case studies

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 An accounting system for an ecosystem liability of organisations Participate in ecosystem accounting (marine and terrestrial) Assess management and restoration costs chargeable to companies Ecosystem accounting at the action scale, an example

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Classification of ecosystem services

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Ecosystem services valuation Accounting for ecosystem services value & sustainability Distance to stated targets & additional maintenance/restoration costs Capital stocks and functions Services Market values Physical measurement and shadow prices

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Social Dimension of Ecosystem Accounting: Spatial integration of ecosystems, land use, services, & population

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 LEAC/Land cover accounts as basic infrastructure

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 LEAC: from changes to flows of land cover LCF3 LCF1 LCF2 LCF5 LCF4 LCF7 LCF6 LCF8 Change Matrix (44x43=1932 possible changes) summarized into flows LCF

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Natural capital Natural capital stocks, resilience (physical units, by sectors) Natural capital consumption/maintenance & restoration costs (physical units and ) Ecosystem assets inclusive wealth () Supply & use of ecosystem goods and services (Use of resource by sectors, supply to consumption & residuals, accumulation, I-O analysis, NAMEA) Functional Ecosystem Services Incorporated into products () Free end use ES ( physical units, ) Framework of Ecosystem Accounts Natural Capital Accounts/ living & cycling natural capital Accounts of flows of ecosystem goods and services Ecosystem Stocks & State Accounts Ecosystem types Economic sectors Spatial integration Economic integration Counts of ecosystem health/resilence (diagnosis by ecosystem types) Core accounts of assets & flows (by ecosystem types, raw quantities) Land cover Rivers Soil, sea, atmosphere Components: water, biomass, C, N P, species … Material/energy flows (biomass, water, nutrients, residuals…)

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 Environmental Expenditures, Taxes SNA/SEEA Integrating Ecosystems Physical flows Monetary flows/valuation Assets valuation Material & Energy Flows Ecosystem Assets [stocks and resilience] Rest of the World Subsoil Assets [stocks] Ecosystem Services Ecosystem Additional Maintenance Costs Ecosyste m Functional Services SNA flows & assets Ecosystem Additional Maintenance Costs in Imports (less in Exports) Assets / Natural capital Ecosystem Assets [stocks and resilience] Subsoil Assets [stocks] NAMEA

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 SEEA2003: enlargement of SNA1993 for a better description of the economy-environment relation RM HASSAN - UN The System of Environmental and Economic Accounting (UN 2003) - RANESA Workshop June 12-16, 2005 Maputo Volume 1 Statistical Standard Volume 2 Non Standard Accounts Volume 1 Statistical Standard NAMEA, expenditure, physical quantities, sub-soil, energy, value of economic assets Volume 2 Non Standard Accounts ecosystems, quality, valuation… Revision SEEA2012 Macro-ecological closure (non-linear feedbacks, spatial issues) Impacts on ecosystems & related services/benefits

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June 2008 EEAs proposal Publish SEEA volume 2 (version 1) at the same date as volume 1 SEEA full picture in 2012 Steer volume 2 project and editing: ecosystem accounts (see next slide); qualitative aspects assets possibly treated in Volume 1 from a quantitative perspective; valuation issues related to ecosystem degradation, depletion being part of Volume 1; other items will be postponed… Review edition with London Group & international panel of experts Look after projects related to ecosystem accounting (TEEB, headline indicators, MA…) Report to London Group & UNCEEA

3 rd UNCEEA Meeting New York June st Draft outline for ecosystem accounts in SEEA revision Part A - Overview and accounting framework Chapter 1. Objectives, system analysis, main features Chapter 2. Implementation of ecosystem accounts Chapter 3. Synthesis and Reporting Part B - Accounts by dominant ecosystem types Chapter 4 Land cover accounts Chapter 5 Urban ecosystems Chapter 6 Cropland systems Chapter 7 Pasture, mosaics and natural grassland systems Chapter 8 Forest ecosystems Chapter 9 Non cultivated dryland, sparse vegetation and bare soils Chapter 10 Wetlands Chapter 11 Lakes and rivers Chapter 12 Soil Chapter 13 Sea Chapter 14 Atmosphere Chapter 15 Regional approaches (mountains, coastal zones, islands, catchments, biogeographic zones)