NEWS
try held its first national Natural Capital
Accounting Forum in July 2019. An
array of decision-makers discussed
how natural capital accounting could
support South Africa’s move towards
a green economy, one in line with the
country’s National Development Plan
and the global Sustainable Development
Goals.
The new study was commissioned
by UNEP and produced as part of
the South African component of
the European Union-funded Natural
Capital Accounting and Valuation of
Ecosystem Services project. The effort,
which also involves Brazil, China,
India and Mexico, is jointly implemented
with the United Nations
Statistics Division. In South Africa,
Statistics South Africa and the South
African National Biodiversity Institute
are leading the project while
collaborating with the Department
of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
and other partners.
Jane Turpie of Anchor Environmental,
lead author of the report, says the
project demonstrates that it is possible
for countries to develop accounts
for a range of ecosystem services in
both physical and monetary terms,
consistent with a form of natural capital
accounting known as the System of
Environmental Economic Accounting
Experimental Ecosystem Accounting
framework.
In follow up work, the results from
KwaZulu-Natal will contribute to national
and global discussions about
the use of accounting approaches for
informing complex challenges such as
land degradation neutrality by 2030,
she added.
The project will also serve as an example
for conservation efforts in other
countries as part of the United Nations
Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
“This study serves as a shining example
of how measuring what matters
could lead to better policymaking,”
says Hussain.
“As the international community
negotiates a post-2020 biodiversity
framework, such research could hardly
be more timely.”
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Grassroots Vol 20 No 3 September 2020