1. Connecting Earth Observation
EO4EA
Connecting Earth Observation
and
Ecosystem Accounting
Prof. dr Lars Hein
On behalf of the EO4EA Steering Committee

2. The System of Environmental Economic Accounting
The SEEA is part of the System of National Accounts.
National Accounts are used world-wide to produce economic statistics,
but do not properly cover ecosystem resources.
SEEA ecosystem accounting is a new framework to account for ecosystem assets and ecosystem services.
It is being applied in ~20 countries,
and has been endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission, FAO, World Bank and OECD.

3. Ecosystem accounting comprises:
Core accounts
Ecosystem extent;
Ecosystem condition;
Ecosystem services supply and use;
Monetary ecosystem assets
Thematic accounts
Land account
Water account
Carbon account and
Biodiversity account
Source figures: UNSD

4. Ecosystem assets are analyzed in terms of:
Extent (types of ecosystems)
Condition (the state of the ecosystems)
Monetary value of the flow of ecosystem services now and in the future
Condition: tree canopy (source: USGS)
Extent: reflecting land cover, land use and ecosystem types (source: USGS)

5. Ecosystem services are analyzed :
In terms of supply and use;
Using physical and monetary indicators
Supply and Use (physical)
Physical data
Supply and use (monetary)
Monetary data

6. Ecosystem accounting requires
Statistical data, e.g.
Crop production
Timber production
Spatial data, e.g.
Soils
Water table
Air quality
Earth Observation derived data, e.g.
Land cover
NPP
Flooding
Multiple datasets and models per service

7. Ecotourism in Palawan (Philippines)
Palawan is an important ecotourism destination but land use change affects ecosystems
The ecosystem accounts show the profits made because of the presence of these ecosystems

8. Remote sensing technologies and EA
EO is crucial for EA – including in developing countries:
In many cases there are no alternative ways to obtain the datasets required for EA
Cost-effective, near-instant monitoring greatly enhances policy applicability
Higher accuracy by combining remote sensing information with survey data
Rice production in the Mekong
But further steps are needed:
Further model development, at high resolution
Managing data volumes
Integration with statistics
Connecting EO and EA communities
Transplanting
Tillering
Booting
Flowering
Milking
Ripening
Rice

9. Further information Secretariat EO4EA Conservation International
2011 Crystal Dr. #500
Arlington VA
For further info on EO4EA: Daniel Juhn (Conservation International) -
For further info on SEEA: Lars Hein (Wageningen University, NLs) -
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