To combat environmental degradation and promote sustainability, India is implementing a new national statistical framework that measures the services that natural ecosystems provide. This reflects a global shift away from treating natural resources as free and unlimited, to measuring and valuing nature’s contribution to our economies.
The System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) provides policy makers and decision-makers with information that accounts for the value nature contributes to our economies. India is one of 90 countries that have successfully adopted the system including the new framework for SEEA - Ecosystem Accounting.
India’s efforts, led by the Indian Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation were supported by the European Union funded project “Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services” (NCAVES), which is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Statistics Division and the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
India has shown us that it does not take decades to break down information silos and that the System of Environmental Economic Accounting can be implemented in a short period of time.
The three major crises facing our planet: the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis and the pollution and waste crisis, are fueled by decades of unsustainable production, consumption and disposal of waste. Quantifying and valuing the contribution natural assets – known as natural capital – can help countries track over-exploitation and invest in protecting and restoring ecosystems.
India’s implementation of the framework is timely in light of the upcoming launch of The Economics of Biodiversity: the Dasgupta Review in February 2021. Led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, the independent global review could pave the way for a new approach to valuing biodiversity and its implications for policy and natural capital finance.
India’s progress on the new framework was highlighted during the NCAVES forum, held in January 20201, organized by the Government of India, the United Nations and the European Union. The NCAVES initiative has also advanced natural capital accounting globally, particularly, in Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.
At the forum, UN Chief Economist Elliott Harris remarked that the new framework is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: “We need an integrated information system that covers all pillars of sustainability - economic, social and environmental. The SEEA allows us to measure these interconnections.”
The Indian Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar, highlighted how the Government of India is guiding the country on the path of sustainable development and looks forward to developing a comprehensive view of the natural resources and ecosystems.
“India has shown us today that it does not take decades to break down information silos and that SEEA can be implemented in a short period of time,” said Stefan Schweinfest, Director of United Nations Statistics Division.
More countries are expected to join the bandwagon after the new framework is adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in March.
Read the India Final Project Report here.
