Resource Corner, SEEA News and Notes: Issue 26
Resource corner, SEEA News and Notes: Issue 26
In this issue you will find Costa Rica’s updates on water, energy and material flow accounts, a new indicative list of environmental goods and services from Eurostat, Samoa’s energy accounts, South Africa’s experimental estimates for biodiversity-based tourism, Germany’s reporting frameworks on environmental subsidies and potentially environmentally damaging subsidies, Maldives’ Road Map for Environmental-Economic Accounts, a plethora of reports launched during the Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development and more.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s updates Environmental-Economic Accounts: Water, Energy and Material Flow accounts (BCCR, 2024)
The Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) published the updated water, energy and material flow accounts, extending their time series for the accounts. Water and energy accounts are now available for the period 2018-2021 and material flow accounts for 2020-2023, including a new data visualization tool to provide users an easier way to analyze the accounts.
Accounts and data visualization tool: https://www.bccr.fi.cr/indicadores-economicos/cuentas-ambientales
Multimedia resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhGzmc2mE20
Main findings: https://www.bccr.fi.cr/comunicacion-y-prensa/Docs_Comunicados_Prensa/BCCR-PPT_resultados_cuentas_ambientales_2024.pdf
Germany
This report details the findings of a Eurostat Grant Project in which reporting frameworks for Environmental Subsidies and Similar Transfers (ESST) and Potentially Environmentally Damaging Subsidies (PEDS) in Germany were developed and implemented for the year 2018. Additionally, overlaps between these new and the already existing environmental-economic accounts were identified to better integrate the data compilation processes of all accounts.
The report can be downloaded here.
Maldives
Maldives Roadmap for Environmental-Economic Statistics (Maldives Bureau of Statistics, 2024)
The Maldives Roadmap for Environmental-Economic Statistics, published by the Maldives Bureau of Statistics in June 2024, identifies four short-term priorities/five SEEA accounts for immediate implementation by 2024-2025, as well as five medium-to-long term priorities/eight accounts to be accomplished by 2030. It also identifies the institutional mechanisms, roles and responsibilities of national stakeholders in the compilation and use of statistics derived from the priority accounts.
The roadmap can be accessed: Environment-Roadmap-2024.pdf (statisticsmaldives.gov.mv)
Samoa
Energy-Accounts-Samoa-2022.pdf (sbs.gov.ws)
This report, released by Samoa Bureau of Statistics, provides the physical flow accounts for energy in Samoa for 2022, compiled according to the SEEA. It also provides key statistics and indicators, such as net domestic energy use and renewable energy in total energy use (Sustainable Development Goal indicator 7.2.1). This is the third edition of energy accounts for Samoa, following the release of the 2016 (experimental) and 2020 energy accounts.
South Africa
Experimental Biodiversity-Based Tourism Estimates for South Africa, 2013-2019
Stats SA released, on 11 July 2024, the first Experimental Biodiversity-Based Tourism Estimates for South Africa for the period 2013 to 2019, as part of the Natural Capital series published by Stats SA. These estimates are directly linked to the Tourism Satellite Account for South Africa with a focus on those elements of tourism directly attributable to the use or enjoyment of biodiversity assets by inbound and domestic visitors.
Link to the publication: https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/D04015/D040152019.pdf
Data story for the Experimental Biodiversity-Based Tourism Estimates for South Africa on the Stats SA website: https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=17388
Eurostat
Classification of environmental purposes (CEP)
The Classification of Environmental Purposes (CEP) is used in the compilation of environmental activity accounts to underline the purpose of each transaction. The CEP is needed to distinguish the products and industries frequently associated with the environment from those in other activities through consideration of the purpose of different activities. The CEP is defined in the standard European Commission tool for classifications ShowVoc.
The CEP with explanatory notes can be found here: https://showvoc.op.europa.eu/#/datasets/ESTAT_Classification_of_Environmental_Purposes_%28CEP%29/data
For more information, a technical document is available on Eurostat website here: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/1798247/12177560/Classification+of+environmental+purposes+%28CEP%29.pdf/7283e770-d10a-dd9a-b491-59661d2c9c42?t=1713873806611.
European Commission regulation
EU Commission Implementing Regulation on Environmental-Economic Accounts (EU 2024/1769
The European Commission published an amendment to the regulation on environmental-economic accounts to update the indicative list of environmental goods and services and of economic activities. This new regulation will be applied for the next environmental goods and services sector accounts (EGSS) reporting requirements in 2024. The list of non-exhaustive EGS and economic activities can be found in the regulation 2024/1769 here.
FAO
Land statistics 2001–2022 -Global, regional and country trends (FAO, 2024)
This analytical brief reports the main results and changes over time in land statistics and indicators with details at global, regional and country level during the past two decades (2001–2022), with a focus on agriculture. In 2022, world total agricultural land was 4 781 million ha, more than one-third of the global land area.
OECD
Greenhouse gas emissions data: Concepts and data availability (OECD, 2024)
This paper offers an in-depth look at greenhouse gas emissions datasets at the OECD, including air emissions accounts. It explores the conceptual difference across datasets and evaluates data availability. Finally, the paper outlines several steps to enhance data coverage and quality of the datasets.
Access the publication using this link.
Other publications on ecosystem accounting
This study uses Oslo municipality in Norway to show best practices for obtaining unbiased area estimates with design-based statistical methods. Comparing custom Sentinel-2 and globally available Dynamic World maps from 2015, 2018, and 2021, the study found that current pixel counting methods cause significant biases, especially for ecosystem conversions. Locally calibrated maps were more accurate than global ones. The study highlights the need for accuracy assessments and standards for auditing uncertainty to ensure credible ecosystem accounts.
Access the paper here.
Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP)
Knowledge products launched at the Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development
- Indonesia government launched their national Ocean Accounts Dashboard (https://oceanaccounts.id/): an open-access interactive dashboard containing all data related to Indonesia’s national ocean accounts. Embedded within the dashboard is ‘System Dynamics Analysis’, a computer model used to predict the impact of investments on the condition of coastal ecosystems and the rehabilitation required to restore ecosystems.
- Strategy for the GOAP Latin America and the Caribbean Ocean Accounting Community of Practice
The first meeting for the Latin America and Caribbean region was held at the Global Dialogue, where the regional Community of Practice for ocean accounting was established. Led by the Charles Darwin Foundation, attendees from 13 countries across the region discussed a six-year strategy to collectively advance ocean accounting in the region.
- Report: Advancing Ocean Accounting in Latin America and the Caribbean (here).
On Thursday 4 July during the Knowledge Exchange for the Latin America and Caribbean Community of Practice, the GOAP Secretariat launched their latest report. The report provides an overview of knowledge, challenges, status, governance structures and tools to support the implementation of ocean accounts in the region.
- Report: “Ocean Accounts for Sustainable Ocean Plans: Enabling Decision-Makers to Measure Progress” (here).
On behalf of the GOAP Secretariat, Russell Reichelt from the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, launched the report. This comprehensive guide emphasises the importance of integrating ocean accounts into Sustainable Ocean Plans (SOPs) to achieve holistic ocean governance.
- GOAP Co-Chair Vision Statement, outlining the vision of GOAP Co-Chairs for the next two years of GOAP. Prepared by Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia and Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.