12 March 2015: The Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) partnership has announced the recent launch of a one-year research project to complement existing initiatives in natural capital accounting (NCA) in Madagascar, Mauritius and Morocco. WAVES also held its first Knowledge Exchange Workshop on Ecosystem Accounting in the Philippines from 23-27 February 2015, and is supporting an ecosystem accounts update in Guatemala.

Under the NCA capacity-building programme, funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development and the French Development Agency and scheduled to run from December 2014 to November 2015, three project teams are focusing on, inter alia, how the depletion of coastal, land and water resources affects the economy. Results and policy recommendations will be presented to government authorities in Madagascar, Mauritius and Morocco.

The Knowledge Exchange Workshop on Ecosystem Accounting drew over 100 participants from nine countries aiming to learn, brainstorm, collaborate and share best practices and experiences on ecosystem accounting. Highlighting capacity building as an important part of WAVES, Glenn-Marie Lange, WAVES Program Manager, emphasized that the workshop provided, for the first time, “systematic training by and for developing countries on ecosystem accounting.” The key outcomes included: development of 12-month work plans, an outline of the status of ecosystem accounting in participants’ countries and their next milestones; recognition of the importance of gathering a diverse cross-section of stakeholders to involve policymakers and ‘influencers’ across all levels and sectors; emphasis on data sharing protocols as a key factor in mainstreaming environmental accounting; and identification of the need for budgets and resources for institutionalization.

The ecosystem accounts update in Guatemala will involve the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment (IARNA), the National Institute of Forests (INAB) and the National Commission of Protected Areas (CONAP) and will include natural capital accounts, such as water, emissions and wastes, fisheries, forests and agriculture as well as non-remunerated work, such as unpaid work within households, and gender accounts. [WAVES Press Release on Madagascar, Mauritius and Morocco] [WAVES Press Release on Knowledge Exchange Workshop] [WAVES Press Release on Guatemala]