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Explore the integration of economic and environmental data to evaluate water resources, utilizing the System of National Accounts and SEEAW framework for sustainable development. Enhance policy-making with comprehensive statistics and indicators.
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Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting for Water Resource Alessandra Alfieri United Nations Statistics Division
Outline • SEEA • The framework • Advantages of the accounting approach • (SEEAW) • UNCEEA and other international mechanisms
SEEA SEEA-2003 is being jointly published by UN, the European Commission, IMF, OECD and the World Bank SEEA-2003 represents a major step forward in the harmonization of concepts and methods in environmental-economic accounting SEEA to become a statistical standard by 2010 as recommended by the UN Statistical Commission
SEEA • Satellite system of the System of National Accounts (1993 SNA) • Brings together economic and environmental information in a common framework to measure the contribution of the environment to the economy and the impact of the economy on the environment • Provides policymakers with indicators and descriptive statistics to monitor these interactions • Provides an information system for strategic planning and policy analysis to identify more sustainable paths of development
Satellite accounts • Information systems that, while maintaining consistent with the SNA, are more flexible and expand the analytical capacity of national accounts • Systems which describe in depth aspects that are hidden in the accounts • Enlarge the boundaries of the SNA • Include complementary elements (e.g. physical information, etc.)
Why an accounting approach? • Encourages the adoption of standards • Introduces accounting concepts to environmental statistics • Improves both economic and environmental statistics by encouraging consistency • Implicitly defines ownership and hence responsibility for environmental impacts • Encourages the development of comprehensive data sets • Facilitates international comparisons
Strengths of the accounting approach • Organised body of information facilitates integrated economic-environmental analysis (complements sustainable development indicators, modelling) • Comprehensive and consistent, routinely produced • Provides a system into which monetary valuations of environmental costs can be incorporated
Environmental-Economic Accounting vs Environment Statistics Environment statistics: • Often developed to answer one particular question or problem • Difficult to figure out if all information is included • Not always easy to see the whole picture, or how it relates to other things
Environmental-Economic Accounting vs Environment Statistics Environmental accounts: • Help to make sense of the larger picture • Help to identify pieces that are missing • Can make connections to other statistics - especially economic statistics
The SEEAW The SEEAW is a satellite system to the System of National Accounts • Links economic accounts with hydrological information • Uses standard definitions, concepts, classifications common to economic accounts • Is expected to become a statistical standard • Allows for the derivation of coherent and consistent indicators
Global Hydrological Cycle Water in atmosphere Water on land surface and subsurface Water in oceans and seas Liquid/solid flows Vapor flows UNESCO (1989) Comparative Hydrology: an ecological approach to land and water resources
The SEEAW and the 1993 SNA • SEEAW is a satellite system of the 1993 SNA. It expands the 1993 SNA by: • Expanding the asset boundary to include all water assets and their quality and produced assets related to water • Juxtaposing physical info to monetary accounts • Separately identifying • Identifying EP
Water accounts comprise: • Flow accounts • Physical supply and use tables • Emission accounts • Hybrid and economic accounts (EPE accounts) • Asset accounts • Produced assets (infrastructure related to water storage, exploitation, distribution and treatment) • Quantity accounts • Quality accounts • Valuation
Physical Flow Accounts Describe the physical flow of water within the economy and between the environment and the economy • Who is using water and how much they use • Abstraction of water by sector and by resource • Returns of water by sector and destination • Water efficiency –recycled water • Import/export of water
Indicators • Water abstraction by sector and by sources • Water discharge by sector • Water abstraction/GDP by sector • Water abstraction/number of employee • Water abstraction per capita • Water consumption by sector • Cost recovery – Is the government recovering the costs of collection, purification, distribution and treatment of water through the fees charged?
Index of water use in Botswana 1993 = 1.00 Pula of GDP per m3 water Volume of water Per capita water use
NAMIBIA SOUTH AFRICA BOTSWANA Agriculture 8 2 10 Mining 72 59 437 Manufacturing 252 130 564 Services,Trade, Govt. 722 403 989 Households na na na GDP per m3 of water input 60 27 147 RANDS of VALUED-ADDED per M3 of WATER, 1996 (7 rands = US$1 in 2000)
Emission accounts • Record the emissions by industries and households into the water directly or into the wastewater treatment plants • Linked with the expenditure accounts will allow to assess the effectiveness of investment to reduce pollution
Water resources • EA.13 Water Resources • EA.131 Surface Water • EA.1311 Reservoirs • EA.1312 Lakes • EA.1313 Rivers • EA.1314 Glaciers, Snow and Ice • EA.132 Groundwater • EA.133 Soil Water
Indicators • Total renewable resources per capita • Total water available per capita • Abstraction/Total renewable resources >1 not sustainable >0.4 water stress • Depletion of ground and surface water
Quality Accounts • They are very important as the quality of water limits its use • Define quality classes according to their relevance in the region/country (i.e. salinity level, BOD, etc.) • Result of modeling exercises – more removed from the conventional accounting approach
Water Accounts: some data issues • Supply and use tables • Estimation of water use and returns in agriculture and industry • Water re-use • Hybrid accounts • Information on water fees and taxes for access of water • Financing of water • Asset accounts • Measuring stock levels for groundwater • Defining stocks for rivers • Potential double counting between surface and groundwater • it is often useful to have a matrix of natural transfers • Quality accounts • Definition of quality classes • Aggregation over time and space • Link between emissions and quality is non-linear
General Issues - 1 It is widely recognized the importance of the water basin as a basic unit for water management • hydrological data are collected at river basin level • economic data are usually for administrative regions How to reconcile the data?
General Issues - 2 The hydrological year may not coincide with the accounting period. How to reconcile the temporal dimension between hydrological and the economic data?
General Issues - 3 How to include spatial and temporal components of water cycle ? • seasonal vs annual accounts • how to incorporate long water cycle into yearly accounts? • How to reflect in the accounts the spatial variability of water scarcity/availability?
General Issues - 4 Terminology is not always consistent among economists, environmental statisticians, hydrologists and policy makers => Need to use a clear, agreed terminology One of the SEEAW main contribution is the standardization of terms and definitions