Self-learning: Ocean Accounts

Vital information to monitor and evaluate progress towards SDG 14 is available, but it is fragmented across scientific domains, policy frameworks and institutions. ESCAP and UN Environment are leading a global effort to develop statistical guidance based on the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA). The Ocean Accounts Framework provides guidance on selecting, prioritizing and standardizing data of national, regional and global importance, so that it can be integrated and thereby provide a comprehensive view. This requires a conversation among scientists, policy makers and statisticians.

The framework integrates and adapts concepts, classifications and methods consistent with the System of National Accounts (SNA), System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA), and other international frameworks. It provides a coherent structure for standardizing fragmented data to produce reliable integrated indicators of interest to policy.

A note to the user:

The materials are in progress and are subject to change. They are necessarily simplifications of the materials in the guidance documents, which should be the main reference for producing statistics and accounts.

Disclaimer:

These materials are free for you to use, adapt and translate. If you do adapt them, please acknowledge ESCAP. They were produced in collaboration with many partners, who are acknowledged in the documents. They have benefitted from testing and feedback from many workshop participants.

Please contact us (stat.unescap@un.org) if you have viewed the presentations. We would be interested in hearing your views on how we could improve the materials.