System of Environmental Economic
Accounting (SEEA) Ecosystem Accounting(e-Learning course)
2 October – 17 November 2023

Guideline

1 OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE
It is well established that healthy ecosystems and biodiversity are fundamental tosupporting and sustaining our wellbeing, our communities and our economies. Protecting
and properly managing ecosystems is key to ensuring the continuous provision ofecosystem services such as pollination, carbon sequestration, flood protection, etc.
Understanding the contribution of nature to our well-being and the impacts of our activities
on the state of ecosystems are key for sustainable development
This e-Learning course introduces the System of Environmental Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA), the agreed statistical framework for collecting suchinformation on ecosystems and their relationship to human activity. The SEEA EA provides
an integrated statistical framework for organizing biophysical information aboutecosystems, measuring ecosystem services, tracking changes in ecosystem extent andcondition, and linking this information to measures of economic and human activities. It
supports the compilation of indicators for several global policy frameworks including the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated SDGs indicators as well as
the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The course is being organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the UN
Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (UNSIAP), under the overall guidance of the UN
Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting (UNCEEA).

2 LANGUAGE
The online modules of the course will be available in English, French and Spanish. All othercourse activities will take place in English.

3 TARGET PARTICIPANTS
Target participants are staff of national statistical offices, line ministries, other agencies
working on issues related to the environment and those interested in learning more about
the SEEA EA.

4 LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the course, participants will be expected to:(a) Have a general understanding of the accounts presented in the SEEA EA and theirrelevance to policy;(b) Understand how spatial units of ecosystem types can be delineated and are used incompiling ecosystem extent accounts;(c) Understand the concepts and general approach for the measurement of ecosystem
condition and ecosystem services; and(d) Understand how biophysical modelling can be applied for ecosystem accounting.

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5 COURSE DESIGN AND CONTENT
The course is comprised of online modules and live webinars. Each online module consistsof interactive slides with explanations. Participants are expected to attend regularlyscheduled webinars. The webinars will provide an overview of the course topics and allow
for participants to ask questions; more details will be provided at the beginning of thecourse. Furthermore, participants are encouraged to actively post their questions andcomments in the online discussion forum of the course. After all modules have been
completed, participants will be required to complete a final test that will cover all modules.
The course is expected to take a maximum of 20 hours to complete.

OutlineModuleCoverage

1. Key concepts in ecosystem
accounting•••Introduction
The ecosystem accounting framework
Related accounts and presentations

2. Accounting for ecosystem
extent•••Spatial units
Ecosystem extent accounts
Complementary presentations of ecosystem extent data

3. Accounting for ecosystem
condition•••

Ecosystem condition
Ecosystem condition indicatorsApplications of ecosystem condition accounts•••

Concepts and principles in accounting for ecosystemservices
The reference list of selected ecosystem services
Accounting for ecosystem services in physical terms

5. Guidelines on biophysicalmodelling••

Modelling for ecosystem accounts
Using the ARIES modelling platform

6. Compiling SDG indicators
using the SEEA EA•••

Deriving indicators using the SEEA EA
Example calculations for four indicators
Institutional considerations

4. Accounting for ecosystemservices

Note: There will also be two optional modules covering valuation and policy scenarios.

6 EVALUATION
Participants must receive a 70% or higher in the test at the end of this course.
Participants will be given 60 minutes to complete the test. They may take the exam up to
three times and retain their best score. Participants may not work together on the test. The
course facilitator reserves the right to deny course certificates to participants suspected ofcheating on the test.

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