Ecosystem Accounting in Armenia:
Setting the Scene
June 2024 – May 2026
The aim of the project is to create a Prototype of national ecosystem accounting in Armenia in accordance with SEEA-EA standards
The project is being implemented jointly with the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) with the participation of experts from leading scientific organizations in Armenia, and with the support of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety.
Project experts (in alphabetical order)
Aleksanyan Alla (Institute of Botany after A. Takhtajyan NAS RA)
Asatryan Vardan (Scientific center of zoology and hydroecology of NAS RA)
Bayburdyan Ani (Institute of Botany after A. Takhtajyan NAS RA)
Fayvush George (Institute of Botany after A. Takhtajyan NAS RA)
The list of experts will be expanded
Project partners:
Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Germany
NextGIS OÜ, Estonia
Project coordinator – Armen Grigoryan (BCC Armenia)
Project scientific supervisor – Elena Bukvareva (BCC Armenia)
Introduction: what is ecosystem accounting
The Ecosystem Accounting within the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA EA) constitutes an integrated and comprehensive statistical framework for organizing data about habitats, landscapes, and ecosystem services, tracking changes in them.
Ecosystem accounting data are needed for the following tasks:
– to make visible and understandable to people the material and non-material contribution of living nature to their well-being;
– to assess and track the state of ecosystems and their services;
– to identify and track the impact of the economy and other human activities on the state of ecosystems and their services;
– to provide an information basis for decision-making in order to maintain and sustainably use ecosystems and ecosystem services.
The SEEA EA is built on a few core accounts:
– Ecosystem extent accounts record the total area of each ecosystem, classified by type within a specified area (ecosystem accounting area). Ecosystem extent accounts are measured over time in ecosystem accounting areas (e.g., nation, province, river basin, protected area, etc.) by ecosystem type, thus illustrating the changes in extent from one ecosystem type to another over the accounting period.
– Ecosystem condition accounts record the condition of ecosystem assets in terms of selected characteristics at specific points in time. Over time, they record the changes to their condition and provide valuable information on the health of ecosystems.
– Ecosystem services accounts (physical and monetary) record the supply of ecosystem services by ecosystem assets and the use of those services by economic units, including households.
– Monetary ecosystem asset accounts record information on stocks and changes in stocks (additions and reductions) of ecosystem assets. This includes accounting for ecosystem degradation and enhancement.
The project “Ecosystem Accounting in Armenia: Setting the Scene”
Our project covers all three blocks of SEEA-EA accounts in physical terms (ecosystem extent; ecosystem condition; ecosystem services). Monetary estimates are not included in the project. The area of interest of the project is shown in the red frame.
The prototype of the national ecosystem accounting of Armenia is understood a set of statistical tables and maps, as well as a description of the methodology for their creation, including a list of indicators and data sources.
The prototype will be created based on published open statistical, cartographic and scientific data for Armenia, as well as global databases. No scientific research or primary data collection is planned within the project. In cases where national data are not available, the assessment is made based on global databases or expert estimates.
Since there are no regularly updated open data on land cover for the territory of Armenia, the prototype is created for one year of data as an example of a starting point for subsequent ecosystem accounting.
The project is carried out in Armenian and English languages.
Project tasks of Blocks I and II
Tasks of Blocks I – III (draft)→
Available data for ecosystem accounting in Armenia (physical accounts of terrestrial ecosystems) →
Preliminary design of data testing for physical accounts of terrestrial ecosystems in Armenia →