Resource Corner SEEA News and Notes: Issue No. 15
In this issue you will find publications of SEEA Ecosystem Accounts from Brazil, South Africa and India, an interoperability strategy for ARIES for SEEA Explorer, a Technical note on the platform that runs ARIES for SEEA, and more.
Brazil issues the English translation of the publication on Ecosystem Accounts. 2000-2018 Land Use in Brazilian Biomes.
The results of the Ecosystem Extent Account, prepared within the scope of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - SEEA. This first edition has as main objective to offer an analysis on the extent of different ecosystem types within the country in terms of area and provide a profile of their state of conservation based on the changes observed in the period from 2000 to 2018. In order to do that, the official environmental approach was adopted, compatible with the ecological concept of basic spatial units used in the SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting methodology: terrestrial biomes. In the Brazilian case, the Amazon, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Pampa and Pantanal Biomes were considered.
The present study is part of an effort to apply the international recommendations contained in the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012: Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA manual), developed by the United Nations within the scope of Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services - Ncaves, in partnership with the European Union.
Access publication here
Policy brief to be found here: https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv101836_folder.pdf
Ecosystem accounts : species threatened with extinction in Brazil : 2014 / IBGE, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Department of National Accounts
The results of the Threatened Species Account, elaborated within the scope of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting - SCEA, are presented in this study. This first version takes as reference the Red List of Threatened Species, of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), known as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, for the species assessed in South America. Specifically, for data analysis in Brazil, a compilation was made for the years 2010, 2014 and 2018 and the calculation of a simplified version of the Red List Index - ILV, the Red List Index - RLI, in different spatial and ecological scopes.
Policy Brief--https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv101837_folder.pdf
IBGE publishes discussion document to assess the comparison between the national classification (IBGE vegetation and land use classes) and the IUCN ecosystem functional groups.
This discussion document, available only in Portuguese, has the intention to expand the debate on the ecosystem typology Global Ecosystem Typology of the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN GET).
The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting: Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) proposes the IUCN GET as the reference classification for delimiting ecosystems with a view to enable comparability of ecosystem accounts, in a spatially-explicit manner. In this respect, the search for an international reference classification and the adoption of a standard in Brazil for measuring ecosystems is essential for the monitoring of the extent and condition of ecosystems with an integrated and comprehensive vision that considers their dynamics and interdependencies.
In order to assess the comparability ratio and further the understanding of the national and international classifications and their data sources for this work, a conceptual and spatial comparison of the vegetation and land use classes of the IBGE and the ecosystem functional groups of IUCN was done.
The discussion document can be found here.
NSO India released its 4th consecutive annual report on environmental-economic accounts titled “EnviStats India 2021 Vol. II - Environment Accounts”
The accounts follow the SEEA framework which is the internationally accepted standard for Environment Economic Accounting. The report was produced with the support of the Inter-Ministerial Group, constituted by the Ministry to provide guidance and also to facilitate the assessment of datasets for the development of these accounts. This year the report encompasses chapters on some of the important domains of environment such as Cropland, Soil and Water
Stas SA releases SEEA EA Thematic Accounts for Protected Areas, 1900 to 2020
This report is part of Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) Natural Capital series and presents South Africa’s first SEEA EA thematic accounts for protected areas. The accounts were produced as part of the NCAVES project through collaboration between Stats SA, SANBI and Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
Read the publication here.
Policy Scenario Analysis Using SEEA Ecosystem Accounting.
The objective of the report is to improve the effectiveness of decisions for sustainable development by highlighting how use of the SEEA EA accounts in scenario analysis models can provide policymakers with a better understanding of the interconnections between society, economy and the environment, and hence lead to better decisions. Country examples are drawn from existing literature and studies undertaken as part of the NCAVES project in China and South Africa
The report is an output of the Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) project, funded by the European Union.
ARIES for SEEA Explorer new publications:
A technical introduction to k.LAB: A semantic web platform for 21st century science
Would you like to learn more about the innovative technology behind ARIES? With this comprehensive document you can get an overview of the main components of k.LAB, an open-source software for modelling, designed to integrate scientific data and models with the k.IM programming language.
This document is a full description of the integrated modelling approach for a technically savvy audience, aimed to improve users’ understanding of the main principles and architecture of the semantic web platform that powers ARIES.
In the meantime, you can also go through our freshly-released interoperability strategy for the next generation of SEEA accounting – a document paving the way toward making science data and models interoperable and reusable.
Watch for more online resources to be released throughout the following months at docs.integratedmodelling.org.
Through the ongoing collaboration between the Statistics Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and National Statistical Offices (NSOs), this policy brief highlights how users in general and NSOs, in particular, can take steps towards compiling natural capital accounts rapidly by using the ARIES for SEEA Explorer.
Business and Natural Capital Accounting Study: Quarry restoration by Holcim - Spain
This case study, completed under the E.U.-funded Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) project, examines alignment between the natural capital accounting approach of Holcim in Spain, with the SEEA. The case study focuses on biodiversity measurement for quarry restoration efforts by Holcim.
Business and Natural Capital Accounting Case Study: Ambuja Cement - India
This case study, completed under the E.U.-funded Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) project, examines alignment between the natural capital accounting approach of Ambuja Cement in India, with the SEEA. The case study focuses on water and biodiversity measurement.
This note presents updated guidance on the Classification of Environmental Protection Activities (CEPA), an established international classification since 20001. CEPA 2000 is a generic, multi-purpose, functional classification used for classifying activities, products, expenditure and other transactions related to environmental protection. CEPA is complemented by the Classification of Resource Management Activities (CReMA) that breaks down environmental activities aimed at preserving and enhancing the stock of natural resources.
Policy Brief: Natural Capital Accounting and Sustainable Development Goals Interlinkages in Botswana
Due to strategic importance of water, energy and minerals in the economy, these resources were prioritized for NCA by the Botswana Economic Advisory Council during the inception of World Bank-led Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) programme in 2012. In this policy brief the linkages between information generated by different natural capital accounts is used to monitor various SDGs indicators.
Lessons learned from development of natural capital accounts in the United States and European Union
This paper synthesizes findings from 11 individual application papers from a special issue of Ecosystem Services on natural capital accounting (NCA) and their application to the public and private sectors in the EU and U.S.
Mineral Accounts of the Philippines, 2013-2018
Based on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) 2012 – Central Framework, the Mineral Accounts of the Philippines aims to provide information on the stocks and changes in stocks of the four metallic mineral reserves. These accounts allow for the monitoring of the sustainability of the extraction of these valuable yet depletable natural assets.