Forum of Experts in SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting
Forum of Experts in SEEA EEA
The Forum of Experts in SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) will be held on 18-20 June 2018 at the Glen Cove Mansion Hotel & Conference Center, Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. The Forum is organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the World Bank, and the European Union through the project “Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services.”
Participants will include statisticians, researchers and experts in the area of ecosystem accounting, ecosystem modelling, spatial analysis of ecosystem services, and environmental and ecological economics, as well as earth observation specialists. Representatives of the project partner countries, namely Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, and other countries having experience in the compilation of ecosystem accounting would also be in attendance.
The Forum’s objectives are to:
- Share best-practices in compiling ecosystem accouts;
- Showcase methodological and technical advances;
- Work towards a consensus on methods and practices to be included in practical guidelines;
- Provide recommendations for the revision of the SEEA EEA.
DOCUMENTS
DISCUSSION PAPERS
Area 1: Spatial Units
Area 2: Ecosystem Condition
Area 3: Ecosystem Services
Area 4: Valuation (3 papers)
- overview paper
- paper on valuation method selection criteria for Session 4 (breakout 1)
- list of key ecosystem services from valuation perspective for Session 12 (breakout 3)
PRESENTATIONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS (by session)
Monday, 18 June 2018
Session 1: Opening of the Forum of Experts
Opening address by Elliott Harris, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and Chief Economist, United Nations
Opening video messages by:
- Mr. Zachary Mwangi Chege, Director General of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the Chair of the United Nations Statistics Commission
- Mr. Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
- Ms. Cristiana Pașca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
- Mr. Mark Gough, Executive Director of the Natural Capital Coalition (NCC)
Opening message delivered on behalf of Ms. Inger Andersen, Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Session 2: Background and context for the SEEA EEA revision
- SEEA history, context, connections to other process and revision process (Alessandra Alfieri, UNSD)
- Progress on the valuation of ecosystem services (Bram Edens, UNSD) [background paper]
- Process and structure for the Forum of Experts (Carl Obst, UN consultant)
Session 3: Overview of the revision issues
Introduction to the revision issues
- Spatial units (Sjoerd Schenau, Statistics Netherlands)
- Ecosystem condition (Joachim Maes, EU JRC)
- Ecosystem services (Lars Hein, Wageningen University)
- Valuation (Rocky Harris, DEFRA, UK)
- Principles of classifications for ecosystem accounting (Julian Chow, UNSD)
Session 4: Breakout session #1
Area #1: Spatial units
- Breakout 1, area 1 - guiding questions
- Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio (EcoHealth Alliance): IUCN habitat classification
- Francisco Jimenzez Nava (INEGI, Mexico): Key principles of classification of land in Mexico
Area #2: Ecosystem condition
- Breakout 1, area 2 - guiding questions
- Joachim Maes (EU JRC): Measuring the condition of Europe’s ecosystems
Area #3: Ecosystem services
- Breakout 1, area 3 - guiding questions
- Lars Hein (Wageningen University): Defining ecosystem services for ecosystem accounting
- Jan-Erik Petersen (EU EEA): Outcomes from discussion on the classification of ecosystem services [background paper]
- Ken Bagstad (USGS, United States): Reflections on ecosystem services classification structures
Area #4: Valuation
- Breakout 1, area 4 - guiding questions
- David Barton (NINA, Norway): Reflections on ecosystem accounting approaches to valuation
- Ole Gravgaard Pedersen (Statistics Denmark): A national accounting perspective
Session 5: Data and tools for ecosystem accounting
- Ken Bagstad (USGS, United States)
- Bethanna Jackson (Victoria University): LUCI model
- Ferdinando Villa (Basque Centre for Climate Change): ARIES model
- Lisa Mandle (NatCap Project, Stanford University): InVest model
Tuesday, 19 June 2018
Session 8: Breakout session #2 – Ecosystem types
Group #1: Forests
- Heather Keith (Australian National University): Lessons from Central Highlands accounts for forests
- Madhu Verma (UN consultant): Factoring forest intangibles in accounting framework: experience from India
Group #2: Agricultural land
- Douglas Muchoney (FAO): Defining agro-ecological units
- Neville Crossman (UNCCD consultant): Measurement of land degradation
- Patrick Bogaart (Statistics Netherlands): Carbon account for the Netherlands
Group #3: Freshwater ecosystems including wetlands
- Amanda Driver (SANBI, South Africa): Pilot ecosystem accounts on condition of water resources
- Joachim Maes (EU JRC): Measures of global surface water
- Francois Soulard (Statistics Canada): Testing the Global Surface Water Dataset for Canada
Group #4: Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Michael Bordt (ESCAP): Ocean Accounts
- Soile Oinonen (SYKE, Finland): Linking the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and ecosystem accounts
- Anthony Dvarskas (Stony Brook University): Applying SEEA EEA to marine and coastal areas
Group #5: Urban ecosystems
- David Barton (NINA, Norway): Ecosystem accounting for Oslo
- Emily Connors (ONS, UK): Urban accounts in the UK
Session 9: Indicators and SEEA EEA
Session 10: Integration of ecosystem valuation
Session 12: Breakout session #3
Area #1: Spatial units
- Breakout 3, area 1 - guiding questions
- Roger Sayre (USGS, United States): Defining ecosystem types
- Francois Soulard (Statistics Canada): Classification of ecosystem types: Experiences and perspectives from Statistics Canada [background paper]
Area #2: Ecosystem condition
- Breakout 3, area 2 - guiding questions
- Simon Ferrier (CSIRO): The role of biodiversity indicators in condition measurement
- Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio (EcoHealth Alliance): IUCN Red List of Ecosystems
- Neil Cox (IUCN): IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Area #3: Ecosystem services
Area #4: Valuation
Session 13: Country experiences
Session 15: Data and tools for ecosystem accounting
- Keith Gaddis (NASA): NASA’s remote sensing capability
- Douglas Muchoney (FAO): FAO tools
- Timothy Wright (CI): Trends.Earth
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Session 16: Breakout session #4 – Cross-cutting issues
Group #1: Establishing classes for ecosystem types – is there a minimum number of classes to support measurement and decision support?
Group #2: Describing the set of key ecosystem services for modelling and valuation
Group #3: Approaches to aggregation for measures of ecosystem condition and ecosystem services
Group #4: Linking the measurement of ecosystem services and ecosystem condition –options for defining capacity for ecosystem accounting
Group #5: Integrated accounting treatments and recording degradation for ecosystem accounting
Session 17: Organizing data for ecosystem accounting
Session 20: Moving forward
Event Date
Monday, 18 June 2018 - 9:00am to Wednesday, 20 June 2018 - 5:00pm
REFERENCE MATERIAL
Below are reference materials useful for the discussions at the Forum.
General
- SEEA 2012--Experimental Ecosystem Accounting
- Technical Recommendations in support of SEEA EEA
- SEEA EEA Revision 2020 - Revision Issues Note
Ecosystem types
- IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme
- A New Map of Global Ecological Land Units – An Ecophysiographic Stratification Approach
- A New Map of Global Ecological Marine Units – An Environmental Stratification Approach
Ecosystem condition
- 5th MAES report on ecosystem condition.
- Compiling biodiversity accounts with the GLOBIO model.
Ecosystem services
Valuation
- The valuation of ecosystem services and assets for SEEA ecosystem accounting, background paper
Other reference materials provided by participants