ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to ecosystem accounting, its key properties and niche in the overall system for environmental-economic accounting, and some examples of its application. Ecosystem accounting provides a systematic framework to include ecosystem services and ecosystem assets in an accounting structure, aligned with the System of National Accounts. A important consideration in ecosystem accounting is that ecosystem services are distinguished from ecosystem benefits, with the service capturing the contribution from the ecosystem, and the benefit representing the way people use the ecosystem service. Ecosystem accounting can also indicate opportunity costs of preserving ecosystems and potential compensation through 'Payment for Ecosystem Services' mechanisms. Compared to standard national accounts and other satellite accounts, the relation between assets and services is more complex in ecosystem accounting because of the diversity of ecosystem services and the complexity of ecosystem processes governing the impacts of ecosystem use on the condition of the ecosystem.
