Every account counts for sustainable development: lessons from the African CoP to implement ocean accounts in the Western Indian Ocean region

The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is critical in supporting the social and economic development of the nations it borders. To safeguard the various opportunities it provides, it is essential to adopt sustainable ocean development models that balance ocean wealth and ocean health. Such models depend on evidence-based and adaptative ocean governance underpinned by holistic social, environmental and economic indicators. The ocean accounts framework provides a standard accounting structure to integrate social, economic and environmental information in alignment with relevant international statistical standards such as the System of National Accounts and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting. Applying such a framework produces integrated indicators against which changes can be assessed and measured. These indicators also inform decision-making and support the prioritisation of areas requiring further attention by highlighting data deficiencies, ocean governance gaps and under-explored research areas. The framework encompasses and links several systems of accounting that can be used based on specific priorities. However, three initiation points have been identified that can be further expanded and concatenated into other accounts encompassed by the framework. This publication provides practical guidelines to start implementing national, regional or local ocean accounts, following the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership Technical Guidance on Ocean Accounting. It is further complemented by amendments proposed by the African Community of Practice based on lessons learned during the implementation of ocean accounts pilots across the WIO region. Compiling ocean accounts is an adaptative and iterative process and should be constantly ameliorated and adjusted to local contexts and priorities. However, efforts should be made to maintain coherence with the framework and international standards.


Introduction
The ocean supports various human activities, which are rapidly growing due to advances in science and technology (Virdin et al., 2021)while progress toward achieving international goals for ocean conservation and sustainability is lagging. In this context, the private sector is increasingly recognized as having the capacity to hamper efforts to achieve aspirations of sustainable ocean-based development or alternatively to bend current trajectories of ocean use by taking on the mantle of corporate biosphere stewardship. Here, we identify levels of industry concentration to assess where this capacity rests. We show that the 10 largest companies in eight core ocean economy industries generate, on average, 45% of each industry's total revenues. Aggregating across all eight industries, the 100 largest corporations (the "Ocean 100". The expansion of ocean resource-use results in increased pressures on coastal and marine ecosystems (Golden et al., 2017).
To balance the needs and interests of ocean stakeholders (with often competing priorities) with the sustainable use of ocean space and resources, it is critical to balance ocean health, wealth and economic development considerations (Gacutan et al., 2022)  Within the 'governance for ocean sustainable development' arena, ocean accounts provide a powerful tool to guide the systematic and consistent compilation of environmental, economic and social information. These are from numerous sources across and between ocean environments and the human use thereof, using international statistical standards (GOAP, 2021a, Gacutan et al., 2022. The power of diverse information is enhanced through integration by using a variety of established accounting systems and satellite accounts relevant to ocean systems (Supplementary Table SM1). Included in these are: the  Table SM2). For example, the flows of goods and services from ecosystems to economic sector supply and use, and the resulting benefits to social systems link ecosystem accounts, ocean economy accounts and social accounts in one direction.
Conversely, the pressures of economic resource-use activities on ecosystems and the resultant natural state change and impacts link social, economic and ecosystem accounts in the opposite direction.
The information compiled through the groups of tables on a regular basis and the systematic linkage between stocks and flows from various accounting systems result in robust knowledge products. These include statistics and indicators for monitoring and reporting ocean resource uses (including benefits and costs), the equitable and inclusive share of the benefits of such use, ocean wealth and ocean health (Fenichel et al., 2020). As a result, ocean accounting data provides a foundation to support development planning, including the definition of goals and strategies for ocean sustainable development within expanding ocean economies. Ocean accounting data also underpin informed decision-making processes, including ocean governance and adaptive policy development cycles across social, economic and environmental domains, the management of the ocean space, the definition and monitoring of protected areas, and the designation and allocation of investments by sector, social groups or locations. It can also facilitate ocean monitoring and assessment, highlighting gaps in knowledge of statistics, governance and research, identifying areas requiring prioritisation; and finally, it enables the incorporation of data-heavy information systems arising from technological advances in ocean sciences.
Such a holistic approach is critical as nations recognise the need to move beyond economic data alone to drive informed decision-making and governance processes (Stiglitz et al., 2018). Be that as it may, establishing ocean accounts can be intimidating in their scope. As an integrated framework, it requires a range of data, information and knowledge from a variety of stakeholders and agencies. The critical role of multidisciplinary teams and the need for collaborative stakeholders' engagement outside their areas of expertise could result in hesitation or resistance to engaging with ocean accounts. Notably, since the OAF is fundamentally an assemblage of accounts as modules, it is often not necessary or possible for the entire process to be resolved from the outset.
Selected accounts can be compiled based on specific policy questions, governance needs, national priorities, data availability, and technical capacity. While the concurrent full compilation of ocean accounts is not required, it is critical to ensure the employment of a common framework so that individual systems and flows within the OAF can be integrated later. Accordingly, all assembled data must be organised in specific and standard structures that enable: a) spatial and temporal comparisons; b) spatial or temporal disaggregation for informed management pro-

Key initial steps
Certain initial and iterative steps (Fig. 2) Figure 2. Initial and iterative steps before compiling the information for incorporation into selected ocean accounts. The blocks in the grey area evidence each step of the initial process (before the implementation of ocean accounts per se). Product blocks represent the outputs of specific steps.
Comments and sub-steps are identified below in the dashed blocks. and identifying and quantifying pressures, risks and impacts of resource use activities.

In
Step II, the accounting systems (within the OAF) that require consideration to address the focus and scope (defined in step I above) in an integrated manner is identified. This includes the scoping and scaling of the process and selection of the top-down (economic demand usedriven) vs bottom-up (environment supply-driven) approaches.
Steps I and II conclude in a diagnostic scoping document that outlines the road map for the ocean accounting process outlined by the Ocean Accounts Diagnostic Tool (Supplementary Table SM3). This diagnostic tool guides a structured dialogue among data users, data producers and data holders to advance the strategic implementation of ocean accounts (GOAP, 2021b).
Of particular importance is the recognition that the value of ocean accounting is critically boosted by the continuity and repeatability of accounting periods, resulting in ongoing indicators. In Step III, there is another process for engaging with stakeholders to identify the components, subcomponents, assets, ecosystem services, and flows of ocean Step III results in a Public Scoping Document (identified as the revised scoping document) that reviews and adapts the diagnostic scoping document (from steps I and II) to ensure that all the necessary activities and resources-uses are included.
Step IV is a comprehensive data identification and collection exercise, including identifying data availability, scarcity, and access challenges to address the relevant scope of the accounting process. Where data paucity is identified, data gaps must be flagged, and data col-

Marine Ecosystem Accounts
This starting point can be prioritised when the governance gaps or policy questions to be addressed are    Table SM5, column 1 for each BSU).
These variables should be compiled within a consistent time frame (e.g., quarterly, as in Supplementary     Table SM12). For example, the ecosystem contributions to a fish stock may hypothetically extend across estuarine (nursery habitat), pelagic water column (feeding habitat) or subtidal reef (breeding habitat).
d. Identify the environmental assets used ("economically produced") by each economic sector and specific industry, quantify their stocks (e.g., a fish stock assessment), the resource use allocation (e.g., a fish stock total allowable catch (TAC)) and supply (e.g., catch) to the economic sectors and industry evaluated (Supplementary Table SM13).
Note that this will result in a   of the statistics and indicators generated over time.
The critical aspect is to ensure that the data is entered coherently to keep the links between the systems and enable spatial and temporal comparisons.

Conclusions
The importance of the ocean to humans is undeniable. Accordingly, it is crucial to shift many processes towards sustainable and inclusive strategies for the ocean's economic development, thus maintaining coastal and marine ecosystems' structure and functioning, ocean health, and pursuing the equitable provision of ecosystem services from which humans benefit.

Term Acronym Definition
System of National Accounts SNA The internationally agreed standard set of recommendations on compiling measures of economic activity. The SNA describes a coherent, consistent, and integrated set of macroeconomic accounts in the context of a set of internationally agreed concepts, definitions, classifications, and accounting rules.

SEEA
The System for integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting is a satellite system of the SNA that comprises four categories of accounts. The first considers purely physical data relating to flows of materials and energy and marshals them as far as possible according to the accounting structure of the SNA. The accounts in this category also show how flow data in physical and monetary terms can be combined to produce so-called "hybrid" flow accounts. Emissions accounts for greenhouse gases are an example of the type included in this category. The second category of accounts takes those elements of the existing SNA which are relevant to the good management of the environment and shows how the environment-related transactions can be made more explicit. An account of expenditures made by businesses, governments, and households to protect the environment is an example of the accounts included in this category. The third category of accounts in the SEEA comprises accounts for environmental assets measured in physical and monetary terms. Timber stock accounts showing opening and closing timber balances and the related changes over the course of an accounting period are an example. The final category of SEEA accounts considers how the existing SNA might be adjusted to account for the impact of the economy on the environment. Three sorts of adjustments are considered: those relating to depletion, those concerning so-called defensive expenditures and those relating to degradation.

Satellite Account -
Satellite accounts provide a framework linked to the central accounts and enable attention to be focussed on a certain field or aspect of economic and social life in the context of national accounts; common examples are satellite accounts for the environment, tourism, or unpaid household work.

Ocean Economy Satellite Account* OESA
A satellite account that measures all economic activity directly dependent on oceans, including activities that use ocean resources as an input (e.g., fishing), produce products and services for use in the ocean environment (e.g., shipbuilding) and depend on the ocean due to geographic proximity (e.g., coastal tourism, warehouses that service ports).

Tourism Satellite
Account TSA Provides a basic system of concepts, classifications, definitions, tables, and aggregates linked to the standard tables of the 1993 System of National Accounts from a functional perspective. This system has been developed to measure tourism's economic impacts on a national economy on an annual basis.

Table Group Summary
Environmental asset* (natural capital) Records the physical status and condition, and monetary value of environmental assets (natural capital), including minerals and energy, land and soil, coastal timber, aquatic resources, other biological resources, water, and ecosystems, including biodiversity. *For the OAF, the environmental assets are focused on marine and coastal (ocean) assets.

Flows to economy (supply and use of ocean services, including goods)
Records inputs from marine and coastal environmental assets to the economy, including ocean-related materials (abiotic and biotic), energy, water, and ecosystem services. These inputs can be recorded in terms of physical quantities and monetary value.

Flows to environment (residuals including ecosystem impacts)
Records, in physical units, the outputs from the economy to the ocean environment, including solid waste, air emissions, water emissions, and impacts on ecosystems.

Ocean economy (as a contribution to the broad economy)
Records the monetary value of production, consumption, accumulation, imports, and exports in economic sectors deemed relevant to the ocean and non-market services in comparison to the broad economy (e.g., national economy). The economy is reflected in the Ocean Accounts as users of ocean services and suppliers of residuals (pollutants) and activities that affect the ocean.

Governance
Records a range of information (physical status, monetary value, and/or qualitative status) concerning collective decision-making about oceans, and the wider social and governance context in which such decisions are made. The information recorded in governance tables includes the status and/or value of protection and management of ocean environment, the "environmental" goods and services sector of the ocean economy; relevant taxes and subsidies; applicable laws and regulations; health, poverty and social inclusion; risk and resilience; and ocean-related technologies. Inclusion of health, poverty, and risk management may require a separately identified social account to address inclusivity within the overall account framework.

Combined presentation
Records a "report card" of summary information (physical quantities, monetary value, and/or qualitative status) and indicators concerning the flows of benefits and costs (the latter broadly defined as maintenance and restorations costs, disservices and externalities) between the ocean environment and the economy. This information includes but is not limited to: the share of Gross Value Added / Gross Domestic Product attributable to the ocean economy; ocean resource rents; depletion, degradation and adjusted net savings relevant to oceans; contributions of oceans to human well-being (employment, sense of place) that are not recorded in the SNA; and relevant information concerning health, poverty and social inclusion.

Ocean wealth
Records summary information (in terms of physical quantities and/or monetary value) concerning a country's (or other region's) stock of ocean wealth, including relevant stocks of environmental assets recorded on a SEEA balance sheet; economic/financial assets recorded on an SNA balance sheet; a subset of environmental assets that are defined as "critical" according to agreed criteria; the resource life of environmental assets; and relevant societal assets such as education and health systems.

Statement of Strategy and Policy Priorities
Document national visions and priorities related to the ocean, the environment, biodiversity, sustainable development, and green/blue economy, including managing natural assets and flows of services from them.
Link priorities to environmental concerns, such as pollution or overfishing.

Institutions
Identify stakeholders, including producers and users of related information (government agencies, academia, NGOs, international agencies), but also other groups such as civil society that can benefit from improved information.
Identify relevant institutional mechanisms currently in place.
Review the role of the National Statistical Office to highlight the advantages of integrating information and approaches across the National Statistical System.

Knowledge
Identify key national data sources that can be used as a basis for further development.

Progress
Understand what progress has already been made in developing ocean data, statistics and accounts, and other environment statistics and accounts.

Context
Identify related statistical development activities that could benefit (and benefit from) ocean accounts initiatives.

Priorities
Determine the priorities for action to develop selected ocean accounts.

Constraints and opportunities
Assess (a) constraints to implementing specific ocean accounts and (b) opportunities for immediate actions to address these constraints.

TOTAL reduction
Closing stock Table SM9. Ecosystem condition accounts for each ecosystem type's opening and closing stocks identified in the accounting area. Ecosystems separated in various disconnected patches were identified as individual units (u). The opening and closing conditions of each specific indicator can also be determined.