10 October 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) and others, convened the ‘Valuing and Accounting for the Environment in the Asia Region’ workshop in Bangkok, Thailand, from 8-10 October. The conference included technical discussions on green accounting systems and valuing natural capital.

Attended by 80 delegates from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam, including academics and senior officials from statistics offices as well as planning and environment ministries, the meeting included discussions on the use of the Systems of Environmental Economic Accounts (SEEA). Delegates were encouraged to consider establishing comprehensive wealth accounting methodologies beyond traditional measures, such as gross domestic product (GDP), and to integrate environmental assets such as clean air, water and fertile soil into accounting systems. [UNEP Press Release] [UNESCAP meeting website] [Ecosystems Services Economics meeting website] [Poverty-Environment Initiative You Tube site for the meeting ]