The NCAVES India Forum-2021 is currently being orchestrated in a virtual format by India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). The ministry has initiated several movements under the project “Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES)”, the overarching objective of which is to refine both the theory and application of ecosystem accounting in India.
About the NCAVES Project
The NCAVES Project, financed by the European Union, is being collaboratively executed by three organizations: the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). India is one of five participating countries along with Brazil, China, South Africa, and Mexico.
Project Execution in India
MoSPI, working closely with India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the Department of Space, oversee the implementation of the NCAVES project in India.
Understanding Natural Capital Accounting (NCA)
NCA refers to an accounting framework utilized to measure and report the stocks and flows of natural capital systematically. Natural capital accounts for renewable and non-renewable resources that collectively deliver a flow of benefits to people. It covers accounting for individual environmental assets or resources as well as ecosystem assets, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.
The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)
For natural capital accounting, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is employed. This framework measures the relationship between the environment and economy. Adopted in 2012 as an international statistical standard by the UN Statistical Commission, SEEA lays bare the relationship between the environment and economy not revealed through traditional economic activity measures, i.e., Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Ecosystem Services
Humans derive significant benefits from ecosystem components – both biotic and abiotic. These benefits are collectively called ecosystem services, which are categorized into four types: Provisioning Services, Regulating Services, Supporting Services, and Cultural Services.
Benefits of Participation in the NCAVES Project
MoSPI’s engagement with the project has enabled it to initiate Environment Accounts compilation per the UN-SEEA framework, releasing these accounts annually since 2018 in its “EnviStats India” publication. The India-EVL Tool, another contribution of the project, values various ecosystem services across different states in the country. Consequently, ecosystem accounting can yield data about ecosystem extent, condition based on chosen indicators, and the flow of ecosystem services.
