Brazil National Forum 2021: IBGE showcases results of the NCAVES project

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), in close collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) jointly organized a National Forum in Brazil (from 16-18 November) in order to present the achievements of Brazil in the implementation of the Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) project as well as discuss next steps for its development with a wide audience of stakeholders.

Over the course of three days, the Forum was attended by about 120 participants from several government agencies, NGOs and academia, as well as international agencies and representatives of other NCAVES countries such as India, Mexico and South Africa as well as countries from Lusophone Africa such as Cape Verde and Mozambique.

The first two days of the Forum discussed technical issues of implementation of the SEEA Ecosystem Accounts. The first day summarized the results from the official releases of ecosystem extent and endangered species accounts as well as experimental results of non-timber forest resources accounts and the pilot in the Matopiba region that assessed a number of hydrological services. This was followed by a panel discussion with experts on opportunities for further development of the ecosystem accounts.

The second day featured the results of the water accounts compilation undertaken by IBGE, in close collaboration with the National Water Agency (ANA). It included presentations on the environmental-economic accounts for 2013-2017, a study on water use in rainfed agriculture; experimental accounts for the condition of water bodies and the valuation of the provisioning of water service. The day concluded with a presentation on how the accounts can be used for reporting to the water-related SDGs.

Thiago Fontenella

On the third day, the final report of the NCAVES project in Brazil as well as its summary policy brief were released. This was followed by the high-level segment which featured  Mr. Eduardo Rios, President of IBGE, Mr. Ygnacio Ybáñez, EU Ambassador to Brazil, Mr. Elliott Harris, Chief Economist of the UN and Assistant Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Mr. Rios emphasized the commitment of IBGE to further develop the accounts in partnership with other agencies. Mr. Ybáñez placed the importance of Natural Capital Accounting in the larger context of the climate and biodiversity crises. Mr. Harris emphasized that Brazil can play a leading role not only in the ECLAC region but also globally to advance the SEEA.

 

The forum ended with a panel discussion with participation of Mr. Adriano Martins Juras, from the Brazil Court of Accounts (TCU), Mr. Henrique Luz from the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) and Mr. Braulio Dias from the University of Brasilia. The panel discussed priorities for the future development of the BRASEEA (Brazilian System of Environmental-Economic Accounts), emphasizing its role in deriving indicators based on a sound methodology and support decision making.


The final report of the NCAVES Project in Brazil  was released during the last day of the Forum. The report highlights the initiatives taken by IBGE under the NCAVES Project, including the compilation of pilot ecosystem accounts, biodiversity thematic accounts and SEEA-derived indicators. 

Presentations and recordings of this Forum can be found in the event page.

The NCAVES project was implemented in Brazil, under the leadership of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, for its acronym in Portuguese), in collaboration with a range of other national partners such as the National Water Agency (ANA), National Forest System (SFB) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with support from the United Nations Statistics Division and UNEP, funded by the European Union.

To learn more about the NCAVES project visit this website https://seea.un.org/content/natural-capital-accounting-and-valuation-ecosystem-services-brazil

The final NCAVES project report can be found on the dedicated NCAVES project page under IBGE website- Ecosystem Accounting | IBGE