The potential of natural and economic ecosystem accounting to support the management of coastal and marine territories on the example of the Kaliningrad region
- Pages
- 46-69
Abstract
The article reveals the statistical potential and the existing possibilities of establishing environmental-economic and ecosystem accounting to support coastal and marine management in the Kaliningrad region. The relevance of these accounts is determined by the geopolitical role and strategic importance of this region for achieving the national goals of sustainable development of the Russian Federation, in particular, SDG 14 “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”). The region is also highly integrated into various international relations and market interactions, exposed to external restrictions and regulations, primarily within the European Union and the Baltic Sea region. The methodology and the data analysis of the main accounts for the shelf sea of the Kaliningrad region was based on the principles and approaches of the international statistical standard System of Environmental-Economic Accounting — Central Framework, 2012 and the Technical Guidelines on Ocean Accounting. It was revealed that even though the information in the field of environmental management of the Kaliningrad region is abundant, there are significant information gaps in completing the accounts. Among the main accounts of the SEEA EA of the shelf sea zone, the major indicator data is available for the basic accounts. The authors substantiated the necessity of gradual development and introduction the accounts of the SEEA EA into statistical practice; proposed a sequence of works, considering their priority for improving regional governance and the significance of the existing data lacoons. The article confirmed the relevance of standardized international approaches to the accounting of ecosystem assets and ecosystem services of the shelf sea zone within the framework of the SEEA EA in order to improve the efficiency of management of the development of the Kaliningrad region and other coastal regions of Russia, their international investment attractiveness, the application of the experience gained in the construction of the SEEA EA for the shelf sea zones of other regions of the Russian Federation.