About Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES)
- Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services or WAVES is a World Bank-led global partnership launched at the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting held in Nagoya, Japan in the year 2010.
- Other partners are UN agencies, governments, international institutes, non-governmental organizations and academics.
- WAVES aims to promote sustainable development by ensuring that natural resources are mainstreamed in development planning and national economic accounts.
- The global partnership brings together coalition partners to implement Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) where there are internationally agreed standards, and develop approaches for other ecosystem service accounts.
- By working with central banks and ministries of planning and finance across the world to integrate natural resources into development planning through NCA, we hope to enable more informed decision making that can ensure genuine green growth and long-term advances in wealth and human well-being.
- Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Madagascar, and the Philippines were the initial core implementing countries with extensive technical support from WAVES. Guatemala, Indonesia and Rwanda joined WAVES as core implementing countries in late 2013.
- Since Rio+20, more than 65 countries have supported a communiqué that calls on governments, the UN system, international financial institutions and other international organizations to strengthen the implementation of natural capital accounting.
- Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) is a World Bank-led global partnership together with coalition of UN agencies, governments, international institutes, non-governmental organizations and academics.
- WAVES was launched at the 2010 Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya, Japan.
- WAVES aims to promote sustainable development by ensuring that natural resources are mainstreamed in development planning and national economic accounts.
- The global partnership brings together coalition partners to implement Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) where there are internationally agreed standards, and develop approaches for other ecosystem service accounts.
- By working with central banks and ministries of planning and finance across the world to integrate natural resources into development planning through NCA, we hope to enable more informed decision making that can ensure genuine green growth and long-term advances in wealth and human well-being.
- Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Madagascar, and the Philippines were the initial core implementing countries with extensive technical support from WAVES. Guatemala, Indonesia and Rwanda joined WAVES as core implementing countries in late 2013.
- Since Rio+20, more than 65 countries have supported a communiqué that calls on governments, the UN system, international financial institutions and other international organizations to strengthen the implementation of natural capital accounting.
The Objectives of WAVES
- To help countries adopt and implement accounts that are relevant for policies and compile a body of experience.
- To develop approaches to ecosystem accounting methodology.
- To establish a global platform for training and knowledge sharing.
- To build international consensus around natural capital accounting.
Funding and Governance of WAVES
- WAVES is funded by the European Commission, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom and overseen by a steering committee.
- Its work on developing a methodology for ecosystem accounting is guided by a Policy and Technical Experts Committee comprising leading experts in environmental economics, natural sciences, and national accounting.
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