Integrated Environmental-Economic Accounting, Natural Resource Accounts, and Natural Resource Management in Africa
Author(s)
Lange, Glenn-Marie; Duchin, Faye
Abstract
In the traditional approach to national income accounting, Net Domestic Product (NDP), which is defined as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) minus the value of produced capital used up in the course of production, has been interpreted as a measure of sustainable income. However, because NDP does not consider the maintenance of natural capital, it overestimates sustainable income. Many aspects of natural capital are omitted from the traditional accounts since they are not subject to market transactions. Natural Resource Accounts (NRA) are designed to rectify this problem. The design of NRA is still in a nascent stage and no conventional format has been agreed upon, though the UN’s recently published handbook on NRA helps rectify this situation. Nevertheless, two major categories can be identified: Summary NRA and Management-Oriented NRA. This paper discusses the conceptual and methodological problems associated with these two categories of NRA and their application to policy issues. It argues that Management-Oriented NRA are more appropriate than Summary NRA to understand economic-environment interactions.
