1. Global perspective: Lessons from the SEEA
Paul Cheung, Director
United Nations Statistics Division

2. Outline Historical background
UN Committee of Experts on Environmental- Economic Accounting - objectives and programme of work
Revision of the SEEA-2003
Scope of the revision and basic principles

3. International Conferences
1972 Conference on the Human Environment
1987 World Conference of Environment and Development
1992 UNCED – Agenda 21 (Rio de Janeiro)
2000 Secretary General Report “We the Peoples”
2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg)
=> Call for information systems to respond to policy needs and make operational the concept of sustainable development.
International Conferences that brought on the international agenda the link between the economy and the environment and the importance of mainstreaming the environment in decision-making.
In early 80’s several international conferences (funded by UNEP and the World Bank) bringing together in particular the economists from academia with statisticians – national accountants - were organized to “address the shortcoming of the SNA, which did not take into account the environment”.
Agenda 21 recognized the importance of environmental-economic accounting and in its Chapter 8 called for the implementation of the env-eco accounting in as many countries as possible.
We the Peoples the Secretary General identifies 4 priorities within “Building a new Ethics of Stewardship as part of Sustaining our Future”, one of which he encourages governments “to consider the SEEA carefully and identify ways to incorporate it into their own national accounts

4. Response by the statistical community
1993 System of National Accounts
SEEA
1993 Interim report (UN)
2000 Operational Manual (UN and UNEP)
2003 (UN, Eurostat, IMF, OECD and WB)
Specific resources manuals
SEEA Fish (SEEAF) (UN and FAO)
SEEA Water (SEEAW) (UN)
SEEA Forest (Preliminary work by UN, Eurostat and FAO)
1993 SNA: Expansion of asset boundary and satellite accounts (Chapter 21) in particular on environmental-economic accounting
1993 SEEA there was no consensus on the framework for this reason it was published as an interim report
2000 Operational Manual – Provide practical guidance on compilation of a set of tables for selected modules of the SEEA where there was more widespread experience. Prepared in cooperation with the Nairobi Group.

5. Response by the statistical community (2)
Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts (EPEA) (Eurostat)
Forest accounts – Timber and non-timber (Eurostat)
Accounts for oil and gas (Eurostat)
Economy-wide Material Flow Accounts (Eurostat)
Air Emission Accounts (Eurostat)
…..

6. Looking ahead
The Statistical Commission in 2005 established the UN Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA)
UNCEEA objectives:
Mainstreaming environmental-economic accounting and related statistics;
Elevating the SEEA to an international statistical standard in 2010;
Advancing the implementation of SEEA at the global level.
With international statistical standard it is implied an agreement on a framework of definitions, classifications, accounts and tables to be compiled at the global level."

7. UNCEEA work programme Coordination
Promotion and implementation of SEEA
Methodological research
Harmonization of data-collection activities with environmental-economic accounting concepts and definitions

8. Groups involved with UNCEEA
London Group on Environmental Accounting (Chair Statistics Netherlands)
Oslo Group on Energy Statistics (Chair Statistics Norway)
OECD Group on Material Flow Analysis
Land and Ecosystem Accounts (within London Group - Chair EEA)
Mineral and Energy Accounts (within London Group, Chair Statistics Denmark)
Valuation (within London Group, Chair World Bank)
Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Environment Statistics (Secretariat UNSD)
Working Group on Statistics for Sustainable Development (Chair Statistics Canada)
Roundtable on Water Accounting for Integrated Water Resources Management
How does the UNCEEA carry out its work programme? Through these groups.

9. Revision of the SEEA-2003 – Why?
Methodology is well advanced but not standardized
Some modules are mature to become international statistical standards thanks to increased country practices
Link the revision of the SEEA-2003 with the that of other international standards
Firmly ground environmental-economic accounting in official statistics
Encourage the implementation in countries and collection of comparable statistics over time

10. Revision of the SEEA-2003 – Basic principles
Consistency
Common quality characteristics of international statistical standards – main drivers of the SEEA-2003 revision .
Consistency with other international statistical standards (1993 SNA, classifications, other economic statistics standards).
Relevance Measurability

11. Complexity, Feed-Back Effects, Missing Knowledge
Cause and effects in a driving forces-pressures–state of the environment–response chain can only partly been quantified
Potential risk of all substances / materials that are transported, used and emitted is not sufficiently known
Permanent and detailed monitoring of every parcel of land or ocean will remain an illusion
Provide “adequate” knowledge for the decision making processes combined with a clearly described quality (metadata).
The accounts cannot predict the feedbacks and non-linearities of the natural systems.

12. Scope and context of environmental accounting

13. Revision of the SEEA-2003 – Next steps
Develop a list of issues for inclusion in the research agenda of the SEEA-2003 revision for approval by UNCEEA in mid-2007
Develop a Programme Management Framework, including roles and responsibilities of Groups
Start working on solving the issues
Appoint editor
Funding….

14. Land and ecosystem accounts in the revised SEEA-2003
Some thoughts on issues:
Classification of ecosystem products (goods and services) building on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Scale – micro vs macro
Aggregation over time and space
Link with the economy