What is the SEEA?

The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is a framework that integrates economic and environmental data to provide a more comprehensive and multipurpose view of the interrelationships between the economy and the environment and the stocks and changes in stocks of environmental assets, as they bring benefits to humanity. It contains the internationally agreed standard concepts, definitions, classifications, accounting rules and tables for producing internationally comparable statistics and accounts. The SEEA framework follows a similar accounting structure as the System of National Accounts (SNA). The framework uses concepts, definitions and classifications consistent with the SNA in order to facilitate the integration of environmental and economic statistics. The SEEA is a multi-purpose system that generates a wide range of statistics, accounts and indicators with many different potential analytical applications. It is a flexible system that can be adapted to countries' priorities and policy needs while at the same time providing a common framework, concepts, terms and definitions.

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