Progress in Natural Capital Accounting for Ecosystems

This article describes the importance of the SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) in making explicit the inputs from the environment to the economy and the cost of environmental degradation in policy. The SEEA EEA is part of the statistical community's response to move SNA measurement “beyond gross domestic product (GDP).” With the first generation of ecosystem accounts now published in 24 countries, and with a push to finalize a United Nations statistical standard for ecosystem accounting by 2021, the article highlights key advances, challenges, and opportunities.