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Jachmann, Hugo, John E. Scanlon, and Sarah M. W. Maston. "How natural capital accounting frameworks fail ecosystem services." EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 14, no. 2 (December 20, 2024): 63–71. https://doi.org/10.14712/23361964.2024.7.
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The United Nations (UN) System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA – EA, UN 2021) has the potential to provide decision-makers with valuable information about the economic value of ecosystems and their components. However, the system has several shortcomings that must be addressed. The need for hard data, the focus on economic value over ecological value and integrity, the reliance on monetary valuation and the lack of clear guidance on the integration of the monetary values into decision-making processes and policies, are some of the issues that must be addressed for the framework to be an effective tool for promoting sustainable management of ecosystems. This is especially important because the ultimate goal of this exercise is to mitigate climate change and to protect biodiversity; to maintain a liveable planet for future generations by focusing on the valuation and accounting for ecosystem services provided by natural capital. Options to improve the system, as well as an alternative model, are briefly discussed. However, our fear is that the system in use is rapidly becoming too academic, too complicated, too time consuming and too easy to be controlled by some in the financial sector. The protection and restoration of ecosystems should not depend on highly complicated bookkeeping systems that may take some more years to finalize and many years to implement, but it does require urgent and collective action to reduce emissions and put a halt to ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change – namely a collective change in attitudes and a complete revision of existing economic theories.
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Dmitrieva, T. "Approaches to assessment of natural capital: foreign experience." Proceedings of the Komi Science Centre of the Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, no. 3 (July 13, 2022): 35–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.19110/1994-5655-2022-3-35-46.
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The concept of natural capital goes beyond nature as a source of raw materials for production and reflects the role of the environment and ecosystems in maintaining human well-being. National accounts do not consider the costs of depletion or degradation of natural resources and the entire economic contribution of nature, which is essential for ensuring sustainable development, so it became necessary to develop special accounting systems for natural capital. The author uncovers evolution of the formation and features of «public» and «private» approaches to the accounting of natural capital in the system of corresponding accounts. The key scheme of both approaches is the way from individual spatial economic, social and environmental data to complex information through the structure of accounts that record the quantity and quality of ecosystem assets and ecosystem services provided by them in physical and monetary terms during the reported periods. The article presents cases for assessing the natural capital at timber industry enterprises and the experience of the UK in measuring the value of various ecosystem services as a leading country. The analysis revealed the problems and trends in the development of the environmental and economic accounting system. A scheme of accounting the forest capital in the regional conditions of information supply is offered.
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Kirey, Vladimir V. "GLOBAL SYSTEMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL-ECONOMIC ACCOUNTING." EKONOMIKA I UPRAVLENIE: PROBLEMY, RESHENIYA 11/2, no. 140 (2023): 82–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.36871/ek.up.p.r.2023.11.02.011.
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Throughout history, people have treated natural resources as infinite and free, which has led to their overexploitation and degradation of ecosystems. At present, society and industry are facing challenges caused by the degradation of ecosystems and the reduction of ecosystem service flows. With ecosystem accounting, we now have the ability to incorporate the value of biodiversity into policy and decision-making. Clear consideration of ecosystem contributions as to current ecosystems Market production, as well as the broader benefits accruing to individuals and society, contributes to a broader understanding of the role of ecosystems and the impacts that can arise when the scale and condition of ecosystems change. The purpose of this article is to provide stakeholders with a brief overview of existing classification systems and assessment frameworks for ecosystem accounting. To do this, we analyses four different ecosystem classification systems, including the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, and the Intergovernmental Scientific Classification. - Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. This review will help to determine the most appropriate models for assessing ecosystem services and natural capital for use in Russia.
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Morand, J. A., G. Jaffrain, C. Sannier, and J. L. Weber. "EXPERIMENTAL ECOSYSTEM NATURAL CAPITAL ACCOUNTS IN THE REPUBLIC OF GUINEA." International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLVIII-M-1-2023 (April 21, 2023): 203–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xlviii-m-1-2023-203-2023.
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Abstract. Over the past thirty years (Rio Conference, 1992), the climate has become an important issue in world politics. With the Kyoto Protocol (1997), atmospheric carbon accounting has gradually been introduced with the aim of raising awareness of national and international decision-making systems for the implementation of an energy transition. However, this carbon approach does not take into account ecosystems despite their fundamental role in climate regulation. A global assessment of all natural resources and ecosystem services, known as natural capital, is necessary from a sustainable development perspective. This assessment must then be taken into account in national accounting systems. The aim of this article is to test, on the national territory of the Republic of Guinea, the ecosystem-based natural capital accounting method developed by Jean-Louis Weber (Weber, 2014). Based on three accounts (ecosystem infrastructure, ecosystem carbon and water resources), this method aims to measure the sustainable capacity or 'sustainability' of ecosystems to provide services. Based on land use & land cover layers produced in the framework of the agroecological zoning project (Jaffrain et al., 2021), we have operationalised this ecosystem accounting methodology in the Republic of Guinea to calculate the total sustainability of the ecosystem. The land cover layers are the basic structural data for monitoring and describing the evolution of the territory at different temporal intervals. Thus, several environmental indicators were defined from these combined geospatial data and eventually allowed to define the evolution of the total sustainability of the territory's ecosystem between 2005 and 2015. A clear degradation of this sustainability value was identified, which reflects the numerous land use changes affecting the country in the recent period (2005-2015).
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Kirey, Vladimir V. "BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTING." EKONOMIKA I UPRAVLENIE: PROBLEMY, RESHENIYA 11/1, no. 140 (2023): 194–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.36871/ek.up.p.r.2023.11.01.020.
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Due to the growing attention of society to the conservation of natural capital and ecosystem services, ecosystem accounting is becoming a significant tool for achieving sustainable development goals both at the national and international levels. Environmental accounting improves the way natural capital and ecosystem services are identified and valued. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting is an international standard accounting developed by the United Nations. The ecosystem accounting system generates environmental and economic reports necessary for effective management decisions and external disclosure of environmental information. The possibility of environmental accounting lies in the development of systems that integrate information rather than create disconnected, discrete repositories of information. With the introduction of an ecosystem accounting system, it is possible to jointly review and compare disparate sources of information reflecting the state of natural capital and ecosystem services. The introduction of a system of ecosystem accounting contributes to the achievement of sustainable development goals. The result of the implementation of the eco-system accounting system is a decision support system. The author proposes to consider the system of environmental-ecosystem accounting as a reliable and effective platform for providing more complete information on the availability and sufficiency of certain types of ecosystem services and natural capital.
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Manes, Fausto, Elvira Buonocore, Alessandro Paletto, and Pier Paolo Franzese. "Natural Capital, Ecosystem Services, and Environmental Accounting." Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management 10, no. 3 (September 2022): 215–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.5890/jeam.2022.09.001.
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Hein, Lars, Ken Bagstad, Bram Edens, Carl Obst, Rixt de Jong, and Jan Peter Lesschen. "Defining Ecosystem Assets for Natural Capital Accounting." PLOS ONE 11, no. 11 (November 9, 2016): e0164460. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164460.
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Ostapchuk, S. M., N. H. Tsaruk, and L. R. Volyak. "Ecosystem accounting as a component of managing Ukraineʼs recovery on the basis of sustainable development." Problems of Theory and Methodology of Accounting, Control and Analysis, no. 2(58) (September 16, 2024): 50–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.26642/pbo-2024-2(58)-50-57.
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In the context of global and national goals of sustainable development, the data of the traditional accounting system is not enough to assess the benefits that society receives from ecosystems and their services, as well as the analysis of anthropogenic impact on the natural environment. In this regard, the international communityʼs efforts formed the concept of ecosystem accounting, the data of which characterize the importance of ecosystems for national economies and humanity. The article aims to reveal the conceptual foundations, objects and accounts of ecosystem accounting and identify the factors that determine the need for its implementation as an essential component of managing the recovery of Ukraine based on sustainable development. The research is based on the method of analogy and abstract thinking. The research hypothesis – the feasibility of introducing ecosystem accounting in Ukraine – was proven using the methods of analysis and synthesis, induction, deduction and comparison based on the results of previous studies on the assessment of the effectiveness of ecosystem accounting concepts in some countries and information requests from the government, investors and international partners regarding the state of ecosystems in Ukraine in wartime. The article reveals the principles that are the basis for the development of national concepts of ecosystem accounting. The key objects of ecosystem accounting are ecosystems as a set of assets that form natural capital and ecosystem services, i.e. unique public goods. The structure of ecosystem accounts was presented, accumulating the information necessary to measure natureʼs contribution to the economy and human well-being. This approach allows taking into account the many advantages of nature, which are often not valued in the market in the traditional accounting system and, accordingly, are ignored when making economic decisions. The factors determining the need to develop a national concept of ecosystem accounting and its practical implementation as soon as possible have been identified. The flexibility of the ecosystem accounting concept, which consists of the possibility of forming ecosystem accounts according to the specifics of the countryʼs natural capital, taking international principles as a basis, will allow for an objective assessment of the national wealth and ensure its restoration, rational distribution and accumulation.
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Neverov, A. V., and H. A. Bahedh. "Formation of the conceptual foundations for the construction of cost accounting of forest ecosystem services." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Humanitarian Series 67, no. 3 (August 3, 2022): 332–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.29235/2524-2369-2022-67-3-332-340.
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The development of the concept of cost accounting of ecosystem services of forests in the context of the theory of natural-ecological accounting is presented, taking into account the characteristics of forests as object of national accounting and sustainable nature management.The main objectives of the study are to identify the need to distinguish between natural and environmental capital, to determine their relationship and differences; to show the expediency of identifying physical and cost indicators of ecosystem services, the accounting role of the timber reserve as a producer of ecosystem services. A method for cost accounting of ecosystem services based on the theory of reproduction and ecological rent is proposed.The results of the study are expressed in a concentrated form by the conceptual scheme for constructing a cost accounting for forest ecosystem services. The content of the value measurement of forest ecosystem services depends on their belonging to natural or ecological capital.
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Atkinson, Giles, and Paola Ovando. "Distributional Issues in Natural Capital Accounting: An Application to Land Ownership and Ecosystem Services in Scotland." Environmental and Resource Economics 81, no. 2 (December 28, 2021): 215–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10640-021-00613-6.
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AbstractAccounting for ecosystems is increasingly central to natural capital accounting. What is missing from this, however, is an answer to questions about how natural capital is distributed. That is, who consumes ecosystem services and who owns or manages the underlying asset(s) that give rise to ecosystem services. In this paper, we examine the significance of the ownership of land on which ecosystem assets (or ecosystem types) is located in the context of natural capital accounting. We illustrate this in an empirical application to two ecosystem services and a range of ecosystem types and land ownership in Scotland, a context in which land reform debates are longstanding. Our results indicate the relative importance of private land in ecosystem service supply, rather than land held by the public sector. We find relative concentration of ownership for land providing comparatively high amounts of carbon sequestration. For air pollution removal, however, the role of smaller to medium sized, mostly privately owned, land holdings closer to urban settlements becomes more prominent. The contributions in this paper, we argue, represent important first steps in anticipating distributional impacts of natural capital (and related) policy in natural capital accounts as well as connecting these frameworks to broader concerns about wealth disparities across and within countries.
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КИРЕЙ, В. В., and Е. И. БЕЛЯКОВА. "METHODS OF ESTIMATIONAND ACCOUNTING OF NATURAL CAPITAL." Экономика и предпринимательство, no. 2(151) (May 31, 2023): 191–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.34925/eip.2023.151.2.037.
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В статье представлено описание и классификация методов оценки природного капитала. Описаны методы оценки экосистемных услуг как основы для оценки природного капитала. Отмечен синергетический эффект методов оценки экосистемных услуг. Результаты анализа могут быть использованы в процессах разработки и реализации политики природопользования различного уровня. The articledescribes the description and classification of methods for assessing natural capital. Methods for assessing ecosystem services as a basis for assessing natural capital are described. The synergistic effect of methods for assessing ecosystem services is noted. The results of the analysis can be used in the processes of development and implementation of environmental management policies at various levels.
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Ramihangihajason, Tony A., Jean-Louis Weber, Solofo Rakotondraompiana, Edmond Roger, Miadana H. Faramalala, and Solofoarisoa Rakotoniaina. "Natural capital accounting as a decision support tool for environmental management of a protected area in Madagascar." PLOS One 20, no. 5 (May 9, 2025): e0321948. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321948.
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Ecosystem change affects the availability of resources and services provided by nature. Ecosystem Natural capital accounting helps track these changes and supports better decision-making for managing the environment. This approach aims to assess changes in the stocks and flows of natural resources and the possibility to integrate them into economic and political decisions. The protected area of Mahavavy-Kinkony Complex, in North-Western of Madagascar, was chosen to implement this approach due to its many types of ecosystems as well as important reserves of threatened birds. In five years (2013–2018), we have observed a reduction in woodland cover (forest and mangrove) due to both regulated and illegal logging, linked to urban expansion and increasing of human pressure. This loss of woodland compromises not only biodiversity but also the capacity of ecosystems to provide ecosystem services. At the same time, the silting up of surface waters is compromising water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems. In addition, the increase in agricultural land at the expense of forested areas raises concerns about the continuing degradation of natural ecosystems. All of these changes can be observed inside local socio-ecological landscape type. Each socio-ecological landscape type shows the potential variation in the production of ecosystem services.
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Vassallo, Paolo, Claudia Turcato, Ilaria Rigo, Claudia Scopesi, Andrea Costa, Matteo Barcella, Giulia Dapueto, Mauro Mariotti, and Chiara Paoli. "Biophysical Accounting of Forests’ Value under Different Management Regimes: Conservation vs. Exploitation." Sustainability 13, no. 9 (April 21, 2021): 4638. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13094638.
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Forest ecosystems are important providers of ecosystem functions and services belonging to four categories: supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services. Forest management, generally focused on timber production, has consequences on the ability of the system to keep providing services. Silviculture, in fact, may affect the ecological structures and processes from which services arise. In particular, the removal of biomass causes a radical change in the stocks and flows of energy characterizing the system. Aiming at the assessment of differences in stored natural capital and ecosystem functions and services provision, three differently managed temperate forests of common beech (Fagus sylvatica) were considered: (1) a forest in semi-natural condition, (2) a forest carefully managed to get timber in a sustainable way and (3) a forest exploited without management. Natural capital and ecosystem functions and services are here accounted in biophysical terms. Specifically, all the resources used up to create the biomass (stock) and maintain the production (flow) of the different components of the forest system were calculated. Both stored emergy and empower decrease with increasing human pressure on the forest, resulting in a loss of natural capital and a diminished ability of the natural system to contribute to human well-being in terms of ecosystem services provision.
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Silva, Serena, Ludovica Capasso, Agnieszka Piernik, Francesco Rendina, Umberto Grande, Pier Paolo Franzese, Giovanni Fulvio Russo, and Elvira Buonocore. "Natural Capital Accounting of the Coralligenous Habitat in Marine Protected Areas." Sustainability 16, no. 21 (October 31, 2024): 9458. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16219458.
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Coralligenous bioconstructions are a key Mediterranean ecosystem for their associated biodiversity and role in the blue carbon cycle. They are also sensitive to environmental alterations (e.g., climate change) and other anthropic impacts related to coastal anthropization (e.g., fishing activities). Marine-coastal zone protection, conservation programs and management strategies are essential to guarantee a good ecological status of the coralligenous habitat. In this context, environmental and ecosystem accounting are useful tools to measure natural capital stocks and ecosystem service flows associated with marine ecosystems, conveying their importance in scientific and policy contexts. Indeed, the importance of marine ecosystems is often overlooked due to the difficulty of expressing their value in common units, making it challenging for decision-makers to explore trade-offs between conservation and exploitation of marine ecosystems. In this study, a biophysical and trophodynamic environmental accounting model was used to assess the biophysical value of natural capital stocks of the coralligenous habitat in three Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) of the Campania Region (Southern Italy): Punta Campanella, Santa Maria di Castellabate, and Costa degli Infreschi e della Masseta. The natural capital value per unit area associated with the coralligenous habitat ranged from 2.44 × 1012 to 4.72 × 1012 sej m−2 for Santa Maria di Castellabate and Punta Campanella, respectively. Despite the different intensive values of natural capital calculated for the MPAs, there were no significant differences both in the biomass values of the taxonomic groups and in the biomass-based Shannon diversity index. Additionally, the biophysical values were also converted into monetary units, with the aim of facilitating the understanding of the importance of natural stocks in socio-economic and political contexts. The economic equivalent of natural capital value refers to the total extent of the coralligenous habitat and ranged from about EUR 1 to 15 million for Costa degli Infreschi e della Masseta and Santa Maria di Castellabate, respectively. The results of this study could be useful for local managers and policy makers and may make them more likely to achieve biodiversity conservation and sustainable development goals in MPAs. This is the first study devoted to the assessment of natural capital value of coralligenous habitats. Future studies could complement the results of this study with biophysical and economic assessments of ecosystem service flows generated by coralligenous habitats, focusing on the role they play in human well-being.
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Ignatyeva, Margarita, Vera Yurak, and Oksana Logvinenko. "A New Look at the Natural Capital Concept: Approaches, Structure, and Evaluation Procedure." Sustainability 12, no. 21 (November 6, 2020): 9236. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12219236.
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This article considers the concept of natural capital as a basic construct of sustainable development. However, after numerous studies, a number of aspects of accounting and valuation of natural capital remain unspecified. The relevance and imperfection of the guidelines used to assess natural capital make relevant the development of such issues as the conceptual apparatus and methods to natural capital assessment. Therefore, the core objectives of the paper are: (1) to substantiate the structure of natural capital, taking into account the natural resources and ecosystem approaches; (2) to clarify the concepts of “function” and “services” in relation to abiotic and biotic components of the environment; (3) to generalize and analyze the classifications of ecosystem services, and to develop the authors’ classification; (4) to identify the most common methods for the economic assessment of natural capital’s components, and to implement these methods within a specific territory. These methods have been tested on the Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug (KhMAD, Russia). The most typical ecosystems of the region and their inherent ecosystem services have been identified. Assessment results are presented for (1) forest ecosystems, (2) mountain ecosystems, and (3) ecosystems of swamps, lakes, and rivers.
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Pelletier, Marie-Chantale, Claire Horner, Mathew Vickers, Aliya Gul, Eren Turak, and Christine Turner. "The exploration of natural capital on the balance sheet: a case study of a water utility company." Meditari Accountancy Research 33, no. 7 (February 14, 2025): 60–87. https://doi.org/10.1108/medar-12-2023-2270.
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Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of natural capital accounting for the purpose of strengthening sustainability claims by reporting entities. The study showed how riparian land improvement influenced ecosystem services which could be measured in the context of financial reporting. The authors tested options for incorporating natural capital concepts into financial accounting practices under existing accounting standards specifically: on the balance sheet. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was used with an Australian water utility that has accountabilities to protect the environment, including maintaining and enhancing riparian land assets. The authors examined internal data sources, stakeholder engagement outcomes, physical assets, monetary valuation processes and financial recognition of natural capital income and assets. Natural capital income was estimated by process-based ecological modelling and ecosystem services were valued in relation to stormwater filtration and carbon storage using data from both internal and external sources. Findings The authors demonstrated how an environmental agency can disclose natural capital as a class of assets on the balance sheet. The authors also found that current accounting standards allow the recognition of some types of environmental assets where ecosystem services were associated with cost savings. The proof-of-concept used for asset measurement through ecosystem service modelling proved useful to strengthen sustainability claims or report financial returns on natural capital investment. Originality/value While many studies have examined environmental disclosures in voluntary reports, this study established that natural assets can be included on the balance sheet of financial statements, offering a robust approach to measuring and reporting on natural capital. It did so by applying financial accounting processes and principles to a real-world natural capital management scenario with direct participation and cooperation between the asset manager, academic researchers and a government environment agency, bridging the gap between theory and practice.
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Buonocore, Elvira, Luigia Donnarumma, Luca Appolloni, Antonino Miccio, Giovanni F. Russo, and Pier Paolo Franzese. "Marine natural capital and ecosystem services: An environmental accounting model." Ecological Modelling 424 (May 2020): 109029. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109029.
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Buchhorn, Marcel, Catherine Van den Hoof, Bruno Smets, Jean-Louis Weber, Arsene Alain Sanon, and Souleymane Tiemtoré. "Facilitating the Management of Protected Areas through Multi-Level Ecosystem Accounting on an Example in West Africa." Sustainability 15, no. 12 (June 7, 2023): 9198. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15129198.
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West Africa, already highly influenced by the negative effects of climate change, is additionally characterized by rapid population growth, endemic poverty, and insecurity. This is affecting the natural capital of its ecosystems and the services they provide. Natural capital accounting (NCA) provides the fundamental evidence base required for informing economics and environmental decisions, thus strengthening the conservation and management of natural resources. The objective of this study is to showcase the development and evaluation of a semi-automated NCA platform (Sys4ENCA) designed to support decision making in the context of protected areas management in a multi-level example in western Africa. The accounting results highlight that simulations at the broader scale using national public data show that the natural capital of ecosystems in western Africa depends strongly on the mean climate and its variability. Evaluating regional datasets, the simulation with the platform shows that pressure on land in combination with weak governance reduces the capability of the ecosystem to deliver the required services in a sustainable manner, i.e., in the eastern part of the Bafing-Falémé landscape, where mining and intensive agriculture are fueling loss of natural capital. The results of Tier-3 accounting using local datasets enhanced the spatial variability and highlighted additional hotspots of degradation compared to the regional results, i.e., the prospective construction of a hydro-electricity dam (Koukoutamba) in the southern part of the Moyen-Bafing National Park located in the Bafing-Falémé landscape. The Sys4ENCA platform, combined with a multi-level approach, showed itself to be a valuable tool to facilitate protected area management as it provides not only consolidated information at a local scale but also the broader context and external pressures, i.e., climate change and demand for land. Given its automatized nature, the platform reduces human errors and increases the efficiency, speed, and harmonisation of computation over long timeframes and spatial scales.
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Fitch, Alice, Jake Kuyer, Natalya Kharadi, Jacob Gower, Caroline Roberts, Nicola Dewey, Stephen Hull, and Laurence Jones. "Under the influence of nature: The contribution of natural capital to tourism spend." PLOS ONE 17, no. 6 (June 22, 2022): e0269790. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269790.
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Tourism and outdoor leisure is an important economic sector for many countries, and has a substantial reliance on natural capital. Natural capital may be the primary purpose for tourism, or it may be a secondary factor, where the choice of location for a leisure activity is influenced by natural capital. Typically, when valuing tourism and outdoor leisure, all expenditure associated with the activity is assigned to the ecosystem it occurs in. However, this value illustrates the dependency on natural capital, rather than the contribution of natural capital. In natural capital accounting, a major challenge is to separately identify the contribution of natural capital from that of other forms of capital. In this study we develop a transparent and repeatable method that is able to attribute the contribution of natural capital (here defined as ecosystems) to the output of multiple tourism and outdoor leisure activities. Using national statistics from Great Britain, we calculate the natural capital contribution to tourism spend by activity at a national and regional scale, and for a case study map and value the contributing ecosystems. We estimated that, out of a total £36 billion spent on tourism and leisure activities in 2017, £22.5 billion was attributable to natural capital. This equates to 0.9% of the UK GDP. The Gross Value Added component of this attributable was £10.5 billion, equivalent to 0.4% of the UK GDP. Regions with the highest natural capital contribution in Great Britain were Scotland and Wales, with the lowest being Greater London and the West Midlands in England. For the case study, the ecosystems with the greatest contribution to terrestrial activities were marine and enclosed farmland. These methods can be applied worldwide for anywhere with aggregate economic statistics on expenditure associated with tourism and outdoor leisure, with the aid of open source GIS datasets.
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Schaefer, Mark, Erica Goldman, Ann M. Bartuska, Ariana Sutton-Grier, and Jane Lubchenco. "Nature as capital: Advancing and incorporating ecosystem services in United States federal policies and programs." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, no. 24 (June 16, 2015): 7383–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420500112.
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The concept of nature as capital is gaining visibility in policies and practices in both the public and private sectors. This change is due to an improved ability to assess and value ecosystem services, as well as to a growing recognition of the potential of an ecosystem services approach to make tradeoffs in decision making more transparent, inform efficient use of resources, enhance resilience and sustainability, and avoid unintended negative consequences of policy actions. Globally, governments, financial institutions, and corporations have begun to incorporate natural capital accounting in their policies and practices. In the United States, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and federal agencies are actively collaborating to develop and apply ecosystem services concepts to further national environmental and economic objectives. Numerous federal agencies have begun incorporating these concepts into land use planning, water resources management, and preparations for, and responses to, climate change. Going forward, well-defined policy direction will be necessary to institutionalize ecosystem services approaches in federal agencies, as well as to guide intersector and interdisciplinary collaborative research and development efforts. In addition, a new generation of decision support tools are needed to further the practical application of ecosystem services principles in policymaking and commercial activities. Improved performance metrics are needed, as are mechanisms to monitor the status of ecosystem services and assess the environmental and economic impacts of policies and programs. A greater national and international financial commitment to advancing ecosystem services and natural capital accounting would likely have broad, long-term economic and environmental benefits.
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Rugani, Benedetto, Philippe Osset, Olivier Blanc, and Enrico Benetto. "Environmental Footprint Neutrality Using Methods and Tools for Natural Capital Accounting in Life Cycle Assessment." Land 12, no. 6 (June 1, 2023): 1171. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12061171.
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Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) is becoming a reference tool for an increasing number of organizations transitioning towards environmental impact neutrality. However, one NCA technique applicable to all types of actors (individual, community, company, etc.) is missing because of the lack of consensus on how to quantify both their environmental impacts and dependencies on ecosystems. A coupled systematic and non-systematic review of the grey and scientific literature is performed here to (i) make an extensive review of state-of-the-art NCA methods, identifying their current utilization and limitations, and (ii) discern prospects about the challenges of integrating an Ecosystem Service Accounting in Life Cycle Assessment (ESA-LCA). While NCA methods can extensively evaluate the supply of ES, they tend to disregard the quantification of environmental impacts that imply a demand for ES. The ESA-LCA approach is identified as a robust solution to balance supply and demand of ecosystem services in NCA, allowing private and public actors to quantify their distance from impact neutrality targets. A novel definition of NC(A) in LCA is also formulated to support these future efforts, promoting a Mitigation Hierarchy-based strategy to avoid, minimize, restore, and offset impacts, and outlining a roadmap for practitioners to apply ESA-LCA across multiple economic sectors.
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Черчик, Лариса, and Ніна Хумарова. "GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE OBJECTS ACCOUNTING OF URBOECOSYSTEMS: METHODOLOGICAL AND APPLIED ASPECTS." Economic journal of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University 1, no. 37 (April 2, 2024): 38–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.29038/2786-4618-2024-01-38-47.
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Introduction. The need to improve and develop methodical approaches to the accounting of green infrastructure objects is due to the lack of a unified system for determining the green infrastructure objects status of municipal territorial communities; the high dynamism of changes in the quality of the urbanized environment natural components and the economic conditions of society's existence; insufficiently regulated spatial development of cities and intra-system zoning and zoning of cities; lack of an ecosystem approach to the procedure of green infrastructure objects assessment and accounting.
The purpose of the article: to justify the need in determine the green infrastructure objects status of urboecosystems, generalize methodical approaches to the accounting of such objects and develop proposals for their improvement.
Results. The article substantiates the necessity of determining the green infrastructure objects status in municipal territorial communities, improving and developing methodical approaches to their accounting. The institutional prerequisites for the green infrastructure objects accounting of urban ecosystems, the tools of quantitative and quantitative-qualitative accounting of green spaces (interactive maps and plans, GIS accounting, mapping methods) that have gained practical application are considered. International approaches to the accounting of green infrastructure objects of urban ecosystems are analyzed. Current approaches that can be used for the identification of green infrastructure objects, their inventory, and certification have been identified, which allows us to assert the feasibility of considering green infrastructure as natural assets of the urban economy with all the prerequisites and consequences, namely, reflection in the General Development Plans, development strategies, plans and projects, accounting on the accounts of municipalities, distribution of responsibility for creation, operation, restoration, etc., which will be directly reflected in the green infrastructure management system. Proposals have been developed to fill in the criteria for quantitative and qualitative accounting of green spaces, which must be included in inventory lists, registers and passports of green infrastructure objects. As well as value indicators: book value, restoration value, improvement value, value increase, depreciation of green infrastructure objects. The experience of accounting implementation for the value indicators of green infrastructure objects ecosystem services is substantiated, since ecosystem capital is no less important than financial capital, and over time it will become the basis of the national wealth of the world countries.
Conclusions. The green infrastructure formation is one of the strategic directions of the green course principles implementation in urban planning, and the accounting system of green infrastructure objects is an institutional environment element of the green cities functioning, information support for making management decisions that will contribute to the natural resources protection of urban ecosystems, and the quality improvement of the city`s residents living environment.
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Kotsiras, Konstantinos, Ioannis P. Kokkoris, Arne Strid, and Panayotis Dimopoulos. "Integrating Plant Diversity Data into Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and Their Services (MAES) Implementation in Greece: Woodland and Forest Pilot." Forests 11, no. 9 (September 1, 2020): 956. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f11090956.
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Research Highlights: This is the first approach that integrates biodiversity data into Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services (MAES) implementation and natural capital accounting process, at the national scale, using an extensive vascular plant dataset for Greece. Background and Objectives: The study aims to support the MAES implementation in Greece, by assessing, as a pilot, the woodland and forest ecosystem type; the targets of the study are: (a) Identify and map ecosystem type extent; (b) identify ecosystem condition using biodiversity in terms of plant species richness (i.e., total, ecosystem exclusive, endemic, ecosystem exclusive endemic diversity); (c) develop ecosystem asset proxy indicators by combining ecosystem extent and ecosystem condition outcomes; (d) identify shortcomings; and (e) propose future steps and implications for the MAES implementation and natural capital accounting, based on biodiversity data. Materials and Methods: Following the national European Union’s and United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounts-Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) guidelines and the adopted National Set of MAES Indicators, we developed a set of four proxy ecosystem asset indicators to assess ecosystem types with respect to ecosystem area extent and ecosystem condition. This was as interpreted by its plant diversity in terms of species richness (total, ecosystem exclusive, endemic, and ecosystem exclusive endemic diversity). Results: The results revealed that when indicators use well-developed biodiversity datasets, in combination with ecosystem extent data, they can provide the baseline for ecosystem condition assessment, ecosystem asset delineation, and support operational MAES studies. Conclusions: The relation among biodiversity, ecosystem condition, and ecosystem services is not a linear equation and detailed, fine-scale assessments are needed to identify and interpret all aspects of biodiversity. However, areas of importance are pinpointed throughout Greece, and guidance is provided for case-study selection, conservation strategy, and decision-making under the perspective of national and EU environmental policies.
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Ogilvy, Sue, and Michael Vail. "Standards-compliant accounting valuations of ecosystems." Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal 9, no. 2 (May 8, 2018): 98–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/sampj-07-2017-0073.
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Purpose There is a great deal of interest in ecosystem or natural capital accounting and in methods to estimate monetary valuations of ecosystems. This paper aims to explore methods that may assist agricultural (livestock grazing) enterprises to estimate the monetary value of the productive capacity of the ecosystems they use. Such estimations are expected to provide a more complete set of information about the performance of pastoral operations and may assist them to assure ecological and economic sustainability. Design/methodology/approach This paper applies five different methods for valuation of the productive ecosystems used in extensive agricultural (grazing) systems. The methods apply different approaches to valuation described in the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) and Australian Accounting Standards (AASs). To do this, the paper uses financial information drawn from the long-term performance of an economically and environmentally sustainable pastoral enterprise. Findings SEEA- and AAS-compliant methods to measure the value in use of provisioning ecosystems are practical and useful. The estimations contribute to a reasonable range of fair values required by AASs and improve the availability of information that would be useful in improving the performance of the operation and compare it to reasonable alternate management strategies. Research limitations/implications The SEEA is an international standard and AASs are closely aligned to the International Accounting Standards, so the methods described in this paper are likely to be generalisable to enterprises grazing low-rainfall rangelands in other countries. However, their ability to appropriately accommodate the extensive modifications to ecosystems caused by cultivation and fertilisation needs to be tested before they are applied to grazing operations in high-rainfall areas or other forms of agriculture such as cropping or horticulture. Practical implications The availability of standards-compliant methods for ecosystem valuation means that companies who wish to include ecosystems on a voluntary and informal basis as sub-classes of land in their general purpose financial reports may be able to do so. If these methods are SEEA-compliant, they could be combined with information about the ecosystem type, extent and condition to produce a set of national ecosystem accounts so that the contribution of ecosystems to the economy can be estimated. Social implications Many of the enterprises that rely on extensive agricultural ecosystems are unable to generate sufficient financial returns to cover their obligations to owners and creditors. The ability to determine the monetary value of the annual inputs provided by the ecosystems may assist landowners and citizens to detect and avoid depletion of their economic and ecological resources. Originality/value This paper applies an explicit interpretation of AAS and draws from valuation methods recommended in the SEEA to demonstrate that current accounting standards (national and corporate) provide a strong foundation for the valuation of the ecosystems used as economically significant factors of production.
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Buonocore, Elvira, Umberto Grande, Pier Paolo Franzese, and Giovanni F. Russo. "Trends and Evolution in the Concept of Marine Ecosystem Services: An Overview." Water 13, no. 15 (July 29, 2021): 2060. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w13152060.
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The biotic and abiotic assets of the marine environment form the “marine natural capital” embedded in the global ocean. Marine natural capital provides the flow of “marine ecosystem services” that are directly used or enjoyed by people providing benefits to human well-being. They include provisioning services (e.g., food), regulation and maintenance services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage, and coastal protection), and cultural services (e.g., tourism and recreational benefits). In recent decades, human activities have increased the pressures on marine ecosystems, often leading to ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and, in turn, affecting their ability to provide benefits to humans. Therefore, effective management strategies are crucial to the conservation of healthy and diverse marine ecosystems and to ensuring their long-term generation of goods and services. Biophysical, economic, and sociocultural assessments of marine ecosystem services are much needed to convey the importance of natural resources to managers and policy makers supporting the development and implementation of policies oriented for the sustainable management of marine resources. In addition, the accounting of marine ecosystem service values can be usefully complemented by their mapping to enable the identification of priority areas and management strategies and to facilitate science–policy dialogue. Given this premise, this study aims to review trends and evolution in the concept of marine ecosystem services. In particular, the global scientific literature on marine ecosystem services is explored by focusing on the following main aspects: the definition and classification of marine ecosystem services; their loss due to anthropogenic pressures, alternative assessment, and mapping approaches; and the inclusion of marine ecosystem services into policy and decision-making processes.
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Haines-Young, Roy, and Marion Potschin-Young. "Revision of the Common International Classification for Ecosystem Services (CICES V5.1): A Policy Brief." One Ecosystem 3 (June 11, 2018): e27108. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/oneeco.3.e27108.
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The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) is widely used for mapping, ecosystem assessment, and natural capital ecosystem accounting. On the basis of the experience gained in using it since the first version was published in 2013, it has been updated for version 5.1. This policy brief summarises what has been done and how the classification can be used.
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Souliotis, Ioannis, and Nikolaos Voulvoulis. "Natural Capital Accounting Informing Water Management Policies in Europe." Sustainability 13, no. 20 (October 11, 2021): 11205. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su132011205.
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In the European Union, the Water Framework Directive provides a roadmap for achieving good water status and sustainable water usage, and a framework for the information, types of analysis, and interventions required by the Member States. Lack of previous knowledge in, and understanding of, interdisciplinary approaches across European countries has led to applications of corrective measures that have yielded less than favourable results. The natural capital paradigm, the assessment and monitoring of the value of natural capital, has the potential to convey information on the use of water resources and improve the connection between implemented measures and changes in the status of the resources, thus enhancing the effectiveness of policy interventions. In this paper, we present the natural capital accounting methodology, adapted to the requirements of the Directive, and demonstrate its application in two European catchments. Using economic methods, the asset value of two ecosystem services was estimated and associated with changes in water status due to policy instruments. Findings demonstrate that the asset value of water for residential consumption and recreational purposes fluctuates from year to year, influenced by current and future uses. Consequently, managing authorities should consider both current and emerging pressures when designing interventions to manage water resource sustainably.
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García-López, María-Jose, and Francisco Pérez-Hernández. "Mapping Research on Natural Capital Accounting: A Strategic Challenge for Multinational Firms." Administrative Sciences 14, no. 2 (February 1, 2024): 28. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/admsci14020028.
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In the contemporary context, characterized by the paramount importance of sustainability, both governments and companies, particularly multinational enterprises (MNEs), play an important role in fostering and overseeing the transformative processes necessary to establish a robust accounting framework for natural capital. The objective of this paper is twofold: firstly, to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing body of literature on this subject and to highlight the importance of avoiding intangible liabilities in MNE from bad practices based on Natural Capital bad practices, and secondly, to outline prospective directions for further research in this domain. To achieve these objectives, we pose two fundamental research questions: (1) What is the current state of knowledge regarding the intangible liabilities and accounting practices of MNEs concerning Natural Capital? (2) How can future research in the field of Natural Capital Accounting be oriented to assist MNEs in accounting for their interactions with Natural Capital? A mixed-method approach is used to address these inquiries. Initially, we substantiate the intrinsic connection between MNEs and the natural environment, utilizing bibliometric techniques to identify the primary themes and areas of focus in the realm of natural capital accounting. Subsequently, we employ in-depth analysis and logical reasoning to propose potential avenues for future research. Additionally, we present a comprehensive model designed to guide forthcoming research endeavors in the domain of natural capital accounting. Among the salient findings derived from our model analysis, it is evident that the inclusion of other environmental factors, such as ecosystem services and biodiversity, should be integral to the overall framework of natural capital accounting. Furthermore, the incorporation of such accounting practices into the day-to-day operations of companies is essential to preserving the natural capital and the reputation of the firms.
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Peng, Jian, Pei Xia, Yanxu Liu, Zihan Xu, Huining Zheng, Tianhan Lan, and Shuying Yu. "Ecosystem services research: From golden era to next crossing." Transactions in Earth, Environment, and Sustainability 1, no. 1 (March 2023): 9–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2754124x231165935.
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Ecosystem services has been widely explored in various theoretical or practical studies since its emergence more than 20 years ago. The two big issues in the past golden era of ecosystem services research were: ecosystem services valuing and ecosystem services trade-offs. We analyzed advantages of ecosystem services in promoting the attention that government and the public pay to the natural capital and the management of ecosystem services, together with summarizing the shortcomings. It was found that ecosystem services valuing made the public aware of the importance of natural capital from an economic perspective, while ecosystem services trade-offs highlighted the relationship between various ecosystem services from an ecological perspective, which could be better applied to ecosystem services-based ecosystem management. With an increasing number of papers focusing on ecosystem services flows, it is believed that ecosystem services flows integrating ecology, economy, sociology and geography disciplines will become a new key direction after ecosystem services valuing and trade-offs. To further promote the study of ecosystem services flows that link human and nature within geographical context, we need to focus on the value of ecosystem services flows with payment and benefit accounting, the relationship of ecosystem services flows by trade-off and synergy analysis, and the direction of ecosystem services flows by spatial and temporal assessment. In addition, a more efficient and widely recognized method is also essential for the development of quantifying ecosystem services flow. This study contributes to understanding the development stage of ecosystem services research and highlights the importance of ecosystem services flow research.
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Tihonova, T. "Approaches to measuring ecosystem services on a forest management territory." Proceedings of the Komi Science Centre of the Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, no. 3 (July 13, 2022): 56–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.19110/1994-5655-2022-3-56-65.
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Analysis of methodological techniques and examples of assessing ecosystem services as elements of natural capital has been the subject of the research. Identification of acceptable approaches for assessing key ecosystem services for the Komi Republic forest management area has been the purpose of the study. The forest sector is extremely important for the economic well-being of the region. In this regard, indicators of key services of forest ecosystems are considered and determined – biodiversity conservation, water protection and water regulation functions, and carbon dioxide absorption capacity. Two approaches are proposed for the measuring: regional (by forestry and districts) and corporate (by small river basins). The regional approach uses information from the Red Book of Russia and the Komi Republic, statistics, information on the forest management of forestries and the state of the environment in the region. The corporate one is based on more detailed indicators: the area of forests of high environmental value and key biotopes; quality characteristics of forests of small river basins on a rental area. The natural capital accounting should be the basis for the effective use of natural assets and for responsible and sustainable forest management.
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Shi, Jinli, Tuodi Wang, Liping Xu, Zhiyu Gao, Cui Cao, Yutian Luo, Yunyun Xi, and Yu Zhang. "Study on the Ecological Compensation Standard in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China under the Perspective of Natural Capital Supply and Demand." Sustainability 16, no. 7 (April 8, 2024): 3078. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16073078.
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The fundamental component of the ecological compensation system, as well as the crucial basis for its efficient functioning, is calculating the ecological compensation amount and establishing the ecological compensation standard. This study integrates the ecological footprint with natural capital monetization and other methods by introducing a natural capital accounting system. From the standpoint of natural capital supply and demand, it also builds an accounting framework for ecological compensation standards that is standardized, dynamic, and regionally differentiated while taking local socioeconomic aspects into account. We determined the amount of ecological compensation by using Xinjiang as the research object and calculating and analyzing the features of regional and temporal changes in the monetary and physical quantities of natural capital in Xinjiang from 2010 to 2020. The findings show that from 2010 to 2020, Xinjiang’s ecological footprint increased by 1.26 times in physical terms and 1.21 times in monetary terms and that its ecological carrying capacity increased by 4.13% in physical terms and 9.42% in monetary terms. The ecological deficit continues to grow in physical and monetary terms, with a per capita ecological deficit in 2020 of 19.92 s-nha/cap and 70,100 CNY/cap in physical and monetary terms, respectively. The amount of ecological compensation required to be paid in Xinjiang increased from CNY 5659 million to CNY 10,259 million, and the per capita ecological compensation payment standard increased from 259.42 CNY/cap/yr to 396.11 CNY/cap/yr. In summary, Xinjiang’s natural capital supply is insufficient to meet the demand for consumption, and the ecological deficit is growing with time, necessitating the payment of ecological compensation. The study’s results lay the foundation for formulating and implementing ecological compensation policies in Xinjiang and provide theoretical support for constructing ecological civilization in Xinjiang. In addition, the ecological compensation accounting framework constructed in this study organically integrates natural capital theory, ecosystem services, and socioeconomic influencing factors, which enriches the methodology of accounting for ecological compensation standards, and, at the same time, can be used as a paradigm of a dynamic and equitable ecological compensation accounting framework to further promote its use at different scales and regions.
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Dieter, Matthias. "Umweltökonomische Gesamtrechnung für den Wald: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen." Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 168, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 32–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.3188/szf.2017.0032.
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Environmental and economic accounting for forests: feasibilities and limits The European Parliament and the Council of the Member States of the European Union point out the need to further develop a system of environmental accounts, including physical and monetary accounts for natural capital and ecosystem services. For the forestry sector such a system already exists. The European framework for integrated environmental and economic accounting for forests (IEEAF) consists of a series of logically ordered tables. Basically it shows the flow of wood from the forest to the different intermediate and final use purposes in a consistent manner. Supplementary, IEEAF provides tables that present production and generation of income in the forestry sector, inform about defoliation, and show the key figures on forest carbon balances. The economic key figures of IEEAF are broadly in accordance with the European system of national accounting, and hence comparable with the respective overall economic key figures. In contrast, ecological indicators are not yet appropriately developed. Hence, ecosystem services on the whole are insufficiently accounted for. Provision with wood as well as carbon sequestration are the only ecosystem services which are covered rather comprehensively. Table systems or at least appropriate indicators for other ecosystem services like water purification and fresh water supply, biodiversity or recreation in forests are missing and deserve recording in the IEEAF framework. Natural capital and its ecosystem services on the whole can hardly be meaningfully evaluated in monetary terms. Changes, though, can. For this purpose it would be sufficient to include above mentioned ecosystem services into the IEEAF in physical terms only. Monetary evaluations could then be conducted for the changes of the services between the individual years.
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Capriolo, A., R. G. Boschetto, R. A. Mascolo, S. Balbi, and F. Villa. "Biophysical and economic assessment of four ecosystem services for natural capital accounting in Italy." Ecosystem Services 46 (December 2020): 101207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101207.
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Campbell, Elliott T., and Mark T. Brown. "Environmental accounting of natural capital and ecosystem services for the US National Forest System." Environment, Development and Sustainability 14, no. 5 (April 17, 2012): 691–724. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9348-6.
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Lee, Calvin K. F., Clare Duncan, Emily Nicholson, Temilola E. Fatoyinbo, David Lagomasino, Nathan Thomas, Thomas A. Worthington, and Nicholas J. Murray. "Mapping the Extent of Mangrove Ecosystem Degradation by Integrating an Ecological Conceptual Model with Satellite Data." Remote Sensing 13, no. 11 (May 22, 2021): 2047. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13112047.
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Anthropogenic and natural disturbances can cause degradation of ecosystems, reducing their capacity to sustain biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. Understanding the extent of ecosystem degradation is critical for estimating risks to ecosystems, yet there are few existing methods to map degradation at the ecosystem scale and none using freely available satellite data for mangrove ecosystems. In this study, we developed a quantitative classification model of mangrove ecosystem degradation using freely available earth observation data. Crucially, a conceptual model of mangrove ecosystem degradation was established to identify suitable remote sensing variables that support the quantitative classification model, bridging the gap between satellite-derived variables and ecosystem degradation with explicit ecological links. We applied our degradation model to two case-studies, the mangroves of Rakhine State, Myanmar, which are severely threatened by anthropogenic disturbances, and Shark River within the Everglades National Park, USA, which is periodically disturbed by severe tropical storms. Our model suggested that 40% (597 km2) of the extent of mangroves in Rakhine showed evidence of degradation. In the Everglades, the model suggested that the extent of degraded mangrove forest increased from 5.1% to 97.4% following the Category 4 Hurricane Irma in 2017. Quantitative accuracy assessments indicated the model achieved overall accuracies of 77.6% and 79.1% for the Rakhine and the Everglades, respectively. We highlight that using an ecological conceptual model as the basis for building quantitative classification models to estimate the extent of ecosystem degradation ensures the ecological relevance of the classification models. Our developed method enables researchers to move beyond only mapping ecosystem distribution to condition and degradation as well. These results can help support ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting, and restoration planning and provide quantitative estimates of ecosystem degradation for new global biodiversity targets.
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Dos Anjos, Sérgio Saraiva Nazareno, and Alexandre Nascimento De Almeida. "Food Security and its Connection With Environmental Economics and Accounting: A Bibliometric Analysis." Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental 18, no. 3 (December 15, 2023): e04190. http://dx.doi.org/10.24857/rgsa.v18n3-010.
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Objective: Map and present the state of the scientific art on food security and its connection with Economics and Environmental Accounting. Theoretical framework: The limits of economic use of ecosystem services were extrapolated, the evidence of which lies in climate change and subsequent heterogeneous food availability. From this perspective, the accounting and economic impacts of environmental changes are apparently underestimated by industrial chains that exploit natural capital. Method: A bibliometric analysis of scientific publications was carried out, that were prospected in the Scopus database. 377 scientific publications published between 1986 and 2023 were retrieved. The mining and analysis of the correlation between Economics and Accounting with food security was carried out based on of the co-occurrence of keywords indicated by the authors of the retrieved documents, using the VantagePoint® software. Results: The results of the bibliometric search show greater progress in research in environmental economics. Conversely, the gaps in the valuation of environmental assets, the absence of validated indicators for the inclusion of natural capital in national accounting systems and the voluntary nature of the disclosure of accounting, financial and socio-environmental data may be the explanations for the lack of connection between food safety and environmental accounting. Research implications: Scientific advances in the calculation of the Green Gross Domestic Product and/or in the adaptation of the SEEA (System of Environmental-Economic Accounts) methodology can generate accounting and economic data from the organization of stocks of environmental assets and favor the availability of food.
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Ogilvy, Sue. "Developing the ecological balance sheet for agricultural sustainability." Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal 6, no. 2 (May 5, 2015): 110–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/sampj-07-2014-0040.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest a practical means of incorporating ecological capital into the framework of business entities. Investors and shareholders need to be informed of the viability and sustainability of their investments. Ecological (natural) capital risks are becoming more significant. Exposure to material risk from primary industry is a significant factor for primary processing, pharmaceutical, textile and the financial industry. A means of assessing the changes to ecological capital assets and their effect on inflows and outflows of economic benefit is important information for stakeholder communication. Design/methodology/approach – This paper synthesises a body of literature from accounting, ecological economics, ecosystem services, modelling, agriculture and ecology to propose a way to fill current gaps in the capability to account for ecological capital. It develops the idea of the ecological balance sheet (EBS) to enable application of familiar methods of managing built and financial capital to management of ecological assets (ecosystems that provide goods and services). Findings – The EBS is possible, practical and useful. A form of double-entry bookkeeping can be developed to allow accrual accounting principles to be applied to these assets. By using an EBS, an entity can improve its capability to increase inflows and avoid future outflows of economic benefit. Social implications – Although major efforts are under-way around the world to improve business impact on natural resources, these efforts have been unable to satisfactorily help individual businesses elucidate the practical economic and competitive advantages conferred by investment in ecological capital. This work provides a way for businesses to learn about what the impact of changes to ecological assets has on inflows and outflows of economic benefit to their enterprise and how to invest in ecological capital to reduce their enterprise’s material risk and create competitive advantage. Originality/value – No one has synthesised knowledge and practice across these disciplines into a practical approach. This approach is the first demonstration of how ecological assets can be managed in the same way as built capital by using proven practices of accounting.
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Golochalova, Irina, and Oksana Vakun. "Natural capital accounting in the context of the socio-economic paradigm of financial reporting: conceptual and methodological aspects." Public Policy and Accounting, no. 2(2) (November 24, 2020): 24–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.26642/ppa-2020-2(2)-24-33.
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In the context of ensuring sustainable development, the activities of a business entity have come to be viewed as a three-component system designed to provide reliable information on the contribution of business to the social and environmental segments of the economy. This trend has led to the transition to the financial reporting socio-economic paradigm, which predetermines its revolutionary transformations, one of which is finding ways to recognize natural capital and disclose information about its impact on the business entity’s value. In the article the conceptual foundation for the recognition of natural capital and impact of its disclosure in financial statements on the business entity’s value has been provided. The methodological aspects of the recognition of two forms of natural capital (natural resources and ecosystem services) have been analyzed. The generalized model for the recognition of natural capital based on the IFRS system has been proposed. The system of accounting and financial reporting of the Republic of Moldova in the context of the transition to the socio-economic concept of disclosing information about the business entity’s value has been characterized.
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Ye, Guanqiong, Teng Sun, Jieqiong Ding, Fangyi Wei, Chong Chen, and Taichong Toh. "Valuing the Natural Capital of Sea Areas Based on Emergy Analysis." Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 11, no. 3 (February 25, 2023): 500. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse11030500.
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Marine natural capital is an important component of natural capital yields goods and service flows benefiting the human being. The emergy analysis method allows one to account for mass, energy and money flows in an ecosystem, providing technical support for assessing its broader value regarding our economic dependence. Thus, we used this method to evaluate the natural capital of the Zhoushan archipelago sea area from 2011 to 2016 and proposed a formula to estimate the marine organism’s transformity. The average total emergy of our study area was 6.93 × 1022 sej and emdollar was about 9.20 billion yuan, which is equivalent to 9.3% of the average regional GDP of 98.5 billion during the same period. The Zhoushan archipelago sea area has high emergy density (ED) and low emergy self-sufficiency ratio (ESR), which shows low input–output efficiency for local use. In addition, the high purchased emergy (PR), high emergy exchange ratio (EER) and low renewable resources emergy ratio (%R) imply an increasing dependence on the outside social and economic inputs. Overall, Zhoushan sea area was in an early but steady state of development. The results can serve as a benchmark for policy making and implementation to achieve local sustainable development. As a tool for emergy-based sea area capital assessment, the model is of great significance for quantifying the ecosystem service value and accounting for marine/land natural capital value.
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Feger, Clément, and Laurent Mermet. "A blueprint towards accounting for the management of ecosystems." Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 30, no. 7 (September 18, 2017): 1511–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/aaaj-12-2015-2360.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a new ecological-issues-centered accounting research agenda, at the crossroads of accounting research and conservation science. Design/methodology/approach Based on a case study of the Natural Capital Project, the research examines the efforts and challenges of conservation practitioners regarding the use of evaluative information systems for conservation (EISC) in complex social and ecological contexts. It discusses why and how, to address these challenges, EISC promoters would benefit from theoretical and empirical insights coming from accounting research. Findings The paper suggests that the use of new information systems centered on organized collective action for biodiversity conservation should be regarded as a new type of accounting for the management of ecosystems, complementary to organization-centered biodiversity accounting and to ecosystem accounting at the national scale. A research agenda inspired by critical accounting should be developed for EISC design and use by: critically analyzing the organizational models currently underlying the use of new calculative practices for ecosystems; and developing new analytical and practical avenues on the basis of more explicit and powerful theories adapted to collective action for conservation perimeters. Originality/value The paper shows the importance of combining three domains of research and practice that are usually disconnected: the design and use of innovative information systems in biodiversity conservation research and practice; accounting research; and theories and conceptual models of collective action to resolve ecological challenges.
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Yatsukhno, Valentin M., and Evgeny V. Tsvetnov. "From studying the properties and functions of land and soil to assessing their ecosystem services: a review." Journal of the Belarusian State University. Geography and Geology, no. 2 (November 29, 2019): 3–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.33581/2521-6740-2019-2-3-14.
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The content of the article is based on the results of an analytical review of foreign and domestic scientific and applied research, as well as the author’s own developments on the specific features and the role of land and soil in the provision of ecosystem services. The latter are the benefits and goods that people receive as a result of the functioning and economic use of soil and land resources, contributing to the improvement of their well-being, as well as the sustainable existence of terrestrial ecosystems. The dualist role of land and soil performing, on the one hand, economic, environmental, sanitary and hygienic, territorial-organizational and other functions, on the other hand, being a recognized form of natural capital with an accumulated stock of value, is considered. It is proposed despite the physical unity of land and soil, when valuing them, be considered separately, determining the value of soil from the standpoint of their ecological functions, and the land – the spatial basis, life support and habitat, and also as an integral part of utility and profitability of land use. The possibilities of assessing land and soil ecosystem services are analysed on the basis of the concept of their common economic value and the prospects for applying its results in environmental management practice and statistical accounting of the natural capital.
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КИРЕЙ, В. В., and Е. И. БЕЛЯКОВА. "APPLICATION OF THE EXCHANGE VALUE METHOD FOR THE VALUATION OF NATURAL CAPITAL." Экономика и предпринимательство, no. 4(153) (June 15, 2023): 26–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.34925/eip.2023.153.4.001.
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В статье представлены методы оценки природного капитала на основе меновой стоимости. Описаны экономические подходы к оценке экосистемных услуг. Определены методы оценки регионального природного капитала с применением методов меновой стоимости. Отмечена значимость учета природного капитала на местном уровне для повышения экономической устойчивости региона. Результаты анализа могут быть использованы в процессах разработки и реализации политики природопользования различного уровня. The article presents methods for estimating natural capital on the basis of exchange value. Economic approaches to the assessment of ecosystem services are described. Methods of estimation of regional natural capital with the use of methods of exchange value have been determined. The importance of accounting for natural capital at the local level for increasing the economic sustainability of the region is noted. The results of the analysis can be used in the processes of development and implementation of environmental management policies at various levels.
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Marais, Zara E., Thomas P. Baker, Anthony P. O’Grady, Jacqueline R. England, Dugald Tinch, and Mark A. Hunt. "A Natural Capital Approach to Agroforestry Decision-Making at the Farm Scale." Forests 10, no. 11 (November 5, 2019): 980. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f10110980.
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Background: Agroforestry systems can improve the provision of ecosystem services at the farm scale whilst improving agricultural productivity, thereby playing an important role in the sustainable intensification of agriculture. Natural capital accounting offers a framework for demonstrating the capacity of agroforestry systems to deliver sustained private benefits to farming enterprises, but traditionally is applied at larger scales than those at which farmers make decisions. Methods: Here we review the current state of knowledge on natural capital accounting and analyse how such an approach may be effectively applied to demonstrate the farm-scale value of agroforestry assets. We also discuss the merits of applying a natural capital approach to agroforestry decision-making and present an example of a conceptual model for valuation of agroforestry assets at the farm scale. Results: Our findings suggest that with further development of conceptual models to support existing tools and frameworks, a natural capital approach could be usefully applied to improve decision-making in agroforestry at the farm scale. Using this approach to demonstrate the private benefits of agroforestry systems could also encourage adoption of agroforestry, increasing public benefits such as biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. However, to apply this approach, improvements must be made in our ability to predict the types and amounts of services that agroforestry assets of varying condition provide at the farm or paddock scale.
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Campos, Pablo, Alejandro Álvarez, José L. Oviedo, Paola Ovando, Bruno Mesa, and Alejandro Caparrós. "Refined Systems of National Accounts and Experimental Ecosystem Accounting Versus the Simplified Agroforestry Accounting System: Testing in Andalusian Holm Oak Open Woodlands." Forests 11, no. 4 (April 2, 2020): 393. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f11040393.
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The scientific debate over how to make visible the connections between the standard System of National Accounts (SNA) and its ongoing satellite Environmental Economic Ecosystem Accounting–Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA–EEA) is a challenge that is still pending. The literature on environmental accounting of agroforestry and silvopastoral landscapes rarely values the multiple ecosystem services of an area, an economic unit (e.g., farm), or a vegetation type (e.g., holm oak—Quercus ilex L.—open woodland). Generally, the literature presents the market value of the products consumed directly or a correction of the latter that reduces their exchange values in order to approximate them to their resource rents. In our previous publications, we have applied and compared our Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS) with the System of National Accounts (SNA), and we refined the latter to avoid the lag between income generation and its accounting in the period in which the product is extracted. These previous publications did not develop experimental applications of the SEEA–EEA with comparisons to the SNA and it being integrated into the AAS. The main novelty of this article is that, for the first time, we present detailed applications and comparisons of our developments of the refined SEEA–EEA and refined SNA with a simplified version of the AAS. The accounting frameworks applied take the production and capital accounts in the process of being updated by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) at the scale of the holm oak open woodlands of Andalusia into account. In this study, we compare three environmental accounting approaches for ecosystem services and environmental income measurements at basic and social prices: our slightly refined standard System of National Accounts (rSNA); our refined, updated and ongoing satellite System of Environmental Economic Accounting–Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (rSEEA–EEA); and our simplified Agroforestry Accounting System (sAAS). We tested them for 15 economic activities in 1408 thousand hectares of the predominantly mixed holm oak open woodland (HOW) land use tiles in the region of Andalusia, Spain. We considered the government institutional sector to be the collective owner of public economic activities, which we incorporated in the rSNA and the sAAS approaches. We discuss consistencies in environmental incomes identified from the results of the three ecosystem accounting frameworks applied to the HOW. The discrepancies in the measurement of ecosystem services of the government institutional sector between the rSEEA–EEA and the sAAS were due to the omission in the former of the government manufactured costs incurred in the supply of freely consumed public final products. The most notable finding of our comparison is that the ecosystem services and the environmental income results for individual market products offered the same values, whichever the ecosystem accounting framework applied. This was not the case with the ecosystem services of public products without market prices, due to the fact that the rSNA estimates these products at production cost and the rSEEA–EEA did not consider the government manufactured production costs and ordinary manufactured net operating margin of government final public product consumption. We also found that, according to modeling of the scheduled management of future biological resources of the HOW, the environmental income shows biological sustainability of the individual nature-based total product consumption.
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Tiemann, André, and Irene Ring. "Challenges and Opportunities of Aligning Forest Function Mapping and the Ecosystem Service Concept in Germany." Forests 9, no. 11 (November 6, 2018): 691. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f9110691.
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In the context of considering natural capital in decision-making, the ecosystem services concept is steadily increasing in importance. This also holds for the forest sector in Germany. This development calls for a harmonisation of approaches and terms used in the forest sector, as well as being made compatible with the ecosystem services concept and relevant classifications. In Germany, and a number of Central European countries, a common way to assess the multifunctional benefits of forests is the forest function mapping method. Due to the federal multi-level governance system in Germany, each state has its own classification of forest functions and mapping. A first objective of this paper is to align the various forest function categories across German states as a basis to relate them to the ecosystem services concept. Second, this bottom-up approach is combined with a top-down approach, building on the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). The aim is to develop a harmonised, methodological framework, suitable for accounting forest-related ecosystem services, as a step towards future ecosystem services monitoring and reporting commitments in the forest sector. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of the ecosystem services concept for forest management are discussed and ways forward are elaborated.
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La Torre, Matteo, John Dumay, and Michele Antonio Rea. "Breaching intellectual capital: critical reflections on Big Data security." Meditari Accountancy Research 26, no. 3 (August 13, 2018): 463–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/medar-06-2017-0154.
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PurposeReflecting on Big Data’s assumed benefits, this study aims to identify the risks and challenges of data security underpinning Big Data’s socio-economic value and intellectual capital (IC).Design/methodology/approachThe study reviews academic literature, professional documents and public information to provide insights, critique and projections for IC and Big Data research and practice.FindingsThe “voracity” for data represents a further “V” of Big Data, which results in a continuous hunt for data beyond legal and ethical boundaries. Cybercrimes, data security breaches and privacy violations reflect voracity and represent the dark side of the Big Data ecosystem. Losing the confidentiality, integrity or availability of data because of a data security breach poses threat to IC and value creation. Thus, cyberthreats compromise the social value of Big Data, impacting on stakeholders’ and society’s interests.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the interpretative nature of this study, other researchers may not draw the same conclusions from the evidence provided. It leaves some open questions for a wide research agenda about the societal, ethical and managerial implications of Big Data.Originality/valueThis paper introduces the risks of data security and the challenges of Big Data to stimulate new research paths for IC and accounting research.
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Nazeerudin, Nazeerudin. "India’s Transition towards Green Economy." British Journal of Multidisciplinary and Advanced Studies 4, no. 1 (February 3, 2023): 46–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.37745/bjmas.2022.0108.
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The agricultural sector’s contribution to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has dropped from 17.4% in 2006-07 to 14.2% in 2010-11i, while the manufacturing sector has underperformed, accounting for only 20% of GDP, due to high interest rates, infrastructure bottlenecks, slow decision-making by the government, and weak domestic demand Furthermore, the service sector, which accounts for nearly 65% of GDP, has also been losing its momentum due to segments like the banking and real estate facing demand and investment constraints. Furthermore, the environment has suffered gravely with the economic progress as from 1990 to 2008, India’s GDP per capita rose by an impressive 120% leading to the natural capital to decline by 31 % in the same period. Adding to that, currently India is operating on almost twice its bio-capacity; indicating that the population’s demand from the ecosystem exceeds the capacity of that ecosystem to regenerate the resources. To ensure that inter-linkages between the economic, societal, and environmental aspects of development are overarching, India needs vital transitions. A green economy strengthens pro-poor economic growth by building up natural capital and secures livelihood options of the poorIn the light of the above Context, this paper attempts to understand the key sectors for intervention in India and have emerged as the main players in undertaking green initiatives. These sectors have contributed to economic growth of the nation while simultaneously causing detrimental effects on the environment. Section 2 of the paper makes an analysis of the six sectors that have the potential of contributing towards achieving the balance along the three pillars of sustainability. Section 3 further analyses the dominant barriers faced by some of the initiatives and how they can possibly be overcome. Finally it the foundation for further research and understanding the viable agents of changes for bringing about this transition.
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Dimopoulos, Panayotis, and Ioannis P. Kokkoris. "Protection and Management of Species, Habitats, Ecosystems and Landscapes: Current Trends and Global Needs." Forests 11, no. 12 (November 25, 2020): 1244. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f11121244.
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Human well-being and the prerequisite sustainable environmental management are currently at stake, reaching a bottleneck when trying to cope with (i) the ever-growing world population, (ii) the constantly increasing need for natural resources (and the subsequent overexploitation of species, habitats, ecosystems, and landscapes) and (iii) the documented and on-going impacts of climate change. In developed societies, the concern about environmental protection is set high in the public dialogue, as well as to management and policy agendas. The recently constituted Intergovernmental Science—Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) urges transformative changes for technological, economic, and social factors aiming to tackle both direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss. By this, the role of conservation and management practices for the environment is characterized as a crucial and top issue and should deal with (a) promoting best practices from the local to the global level, (b) identifying spatial and temporal knowledge gaps, (c) multidisciplinary aspects for sustainable management practices, (d) identifying and interpreting the role of stakeholders and socio-economic parameters in the decision-making process, and (e) methods and practices to integrate the concept of ecosystem services into natural capital assessment and accounting, conservation and management strategies. Modern literature highlights that land-use change and prioritization, restoration of natural areas, cultural landscape identification and maintenance, should be considered to the top of the scientific and policy agenda, as well as to the epicenter of novel awareness-raising strategies for the environment in the near future.
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Espinoza-Benavides, Jorge, Maribel Guerrero, and David Díaz. "Dissecting the ecosystems’ determinants of entrepreneurial re-entry after a business failure." European Business Review 33, no. 6 (October 4, 2021): 975–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ebr-09-2020-0222.
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Purpose This study aims to evaluate the role of entrepreneurial ecosystems conditions (formal, informal and social capital) on different types of entrepreneurial re-entry at a global scale. Design/methodology/approach Given this phenomenon’s nature, this study builds a panel of data of 54 economies covering different (advanced and emerging) countries across the globe during the period 2004–2017 by mixing multiples sources of information (e.g. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund). The statistical analysis consisted of the fixed-effect dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation for panel data. Findings Three empirical insights emerge from the study. First, the entrepreneurial ecosystem’s formal conditions are mainly configured to support high-growth entrepreneurship ignoring re-entrepreneurs. Consequently, the formal conditions’ contribution is very limited in emerging economies. Second, the analysis of informal conditions revealed social media’s critical contribution for legitimizing entrepreneurship and supporting those entrepreneurs who want to re-enter the domestic or international market after a business failure. Third, social networks built during previous business angels or entrepreneurial experiences or with other entrepreneurs also play a crucial role for re-entrepreneurs to overcome the weaknesses in the entrepreneurial ecosystems’ conditions. Originality/value The study contributes to two ongoing academic debates among entrepreneurship scholars. The first is related to how the entrepreneurial ecosystem supports entrepreneurial activity in different economic contexts. The second is related to the study of the contextual determinants of entrepreneurial re-entry after a business failure.
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Almubarak, Norah, and Dimo Dimov. "Value adding in venture capital as a mesh of practices." International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 28, no. 9 (November 14, 2022): 427–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijebr-03-2022-0283.
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PurposeThis paper aims to adopt a practice-theory, “site ontology” perspective to understand how venture capitalists (VCs) add value to their portfolio companies (PCs).Design/methodology/approachThe empirical research involves a field ethnographic study of a VC firm in Dubai, focused on revealing what constitutes value and what VCs do to add this value to their PCs.FindingsValue adding is a profoundly social, embedded process interconnected with other ecosystem actors, investment practices and organizations. The value adding threads of VC activity are part of a holistic configuration of practices that span the investment lifecycle and different levels within the firm.Originality/valueThis research contributes a rich account of the social, symbolic nature of VC activity, depicting the everyday activities that comprise value adding practices. It is among the first to introduce practice theory to the VC context and open up a new conversation about its social ontology.