Sustainability, Vol. 11, Pages 6417: Implementation Barriers for a System of Environmental-Economic Accounting in Developing Countries and Its Implications for Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (Sustainability)

The desire to include environmental information in national accounts has resulted in the construction of a system of environmental-economic accounting (SEEA). As the international statistical standard for environmental-economic accounting, the SEEA can provide valuable support for monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study assesses the potential use of the SEEA for monitoring SDGs. This paper shows that, in theory, the potential for this system is significant. However, based on a literature review and survey of SEEA experts, practical problems in implementing the SEEA are significant, especially in developing countries. Such issues include data availability and quality, as well as the availability of funding and human resources. Capacity development is key to establishing successful implementation of the SEEA in developing countries. For example, the World Bank’s WAVES program (Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services) has been instrumental in capacity building in developing countries, which, however, still show great variation in how they implement SEEA.