Abstract
Ecological economists currently face an important opportunity to influence national policies and global awareness regarding ecosystems. Ecosystem services (ES) frameworks, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the System of Environmental Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) will influence how national measurement systems integrate the value of ecosystems and their services into national planning and monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Decision-makers are, however, faced with an embarrassment of riches. There is a multitude of ES frameworks, but no formal and integrative evaluation of the entire set exists. We review the IPBES, the SEEA EEA and 14 other ES frameworks using criteria designed to address operational and convergence considerations for national ecosystem accounting. While the frameworks reviewed incorporate many strengths, none fulfils all the criteria of a comprehensive national ecosystem accounting framework. We conclude with suggestions for conceptual, measurement and process developments to broaden the appeal, utility and acceptance of future frameworks. Considering these suggestions could substantially contribute to the development of ecosystem accounting frameworks that foster a constructive dialogue amongst the many disciplines, national contexts and viewpoints involved in understanding, measuring and making decisions about ecosystems.
Highlights
During the last 15 years, a proliferation of ecosystem services (ES) and ecosystem accounting (EA) frameworks*1 have been developed. While these frameworks were developed for different purposes, ranging from one-time studies to ongoing international guidance, each embeds many useful concepts and approaches that can contribute to planning and monitoring at the national level
One coherent, integrated and broadly relevant framework can serve as a starting point: a common language towards establishing a constructive dialogue amongst diverse stakeholders in national planning and leveraging this dialogue to improve the efficiency of data collection and the rigour of its analysis
Based on the strengths of the existing frameworks and the present analysis, we suggest nine avenues for improvement that should prove beneficial to ongoing international efforts to develop national ecosystem accounting frameworks
Summary
During the last 15 years, a proliferation of ecosystem services (ES) and ecosystem accounting (EA) frameworks*1 (which incorporate ES within a broader scope of ecosystem and economic statistics) have been developed (see Table 1). One coherent, integrated and broadly relevant framework can serve as a starting point: a common language towards establishing a constructive dialogue amongst diverse stakeholders in national planning and leveraging this dialogue to improve the efficiency of data collection and the rigour of its analysis. The need for such a common language is emphasised by the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations 2015) in which nations agree by 2020, to incorporate the values of ecosystem and biodiversity into national planning and accounts. We do not propose national ecosystem accounting as a substitute for local and context-specific solutions, but rather as a complement to them
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