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Water accounting in the National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions
Citation:
Bagstad, K., W. Burnett, J. Corona, C. Crowley, M. Dalton, E. Fenichel, F. Franco, W. Ingwersen, S. Lehmann, M. Martin, J. Painter, B. Parthum, R. Richardson, S. Shah, L. Sprague, S. Wallander, T. Warziniack, AND S. Wentland. Water accounting in the National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions. Presented at 6th Annual Social Cost of Water Pollution Workshop, Washington, DC, October 11 - 13, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
To brief attendees on the plans for an official U.S. Water Account that complies with international SEEA standards. Following Executive Order 14072 issued in April 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of Commerce published the final National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions (National Strategy) in January 2023. The National Strategy lays out a 15-year roadmap for the production of a wide range of natural capital accounts and environmental-economic statistics. These will be produced in a coordinated way by the Federal Government, systematically tracking the myriad connections between the Nation’s economy, natural resources, and ecosystems. Water accounts are a critical and high-priority component of the National Strategy.
Description:
Following Executive Order 14072 issued in April 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of Commerce published the final National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions (National Strategy) in January 2023. The National Strategy lays out a 15-year roadmap for the production of a wide range of natural capital accounts and environmental-economic statistics. These will be produced in a coordinated way by the Federal Government, systematically tracking the myriad connections between the Nation’s economy, natural resources, and ecosystems. Water accounts are a critical and high-priority component of the National Strategy. Additionally, numerous water-related ecosystem services will appear in other parts of the accounts, such as those for forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other ecosystems. Since the National Strategy’s release, an interagency group has developed an implementation plan that, over the next 10 years, will guide agencies toward a shared vision for the production of comprehensive water accounts. For both physical and monetary data, this strategy identifies key data sources being developed in the years ahead, as well as critical data gaps still needing to be filled. In this presentation, we will share highlights from the planning process for water accounts, with a specific focus on areas where non-Federal partners including academics can make key contributions toward U.S. water accounts.