Environmental Accounts for Agriculture

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Environmental Accounts for Agriculture Study by
Jacobs and SAC to Develop the Framework Rural
Observatory Meeting 15th July, Leeds Dave
Fernall David.Fernall_at_defra.gsi.gov.uk Statisticia
n Farming and Food Group Defra
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Environmental Accounts for AgricultureIntroductio
n

• Brings together environmental and economic data
  within a common framework
• Physical data on agricultures impact on the
  environment (both positive and negative)
• Plus estimates of the monetary value of the
  positive and negative impacts
• Include impacts on other sectors and society

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Environmental Accounts for AgricultureData
issues

• Data from a wide range of sources
• Market data e.g. clean-up costs to water
  companies
• Valuation studies
• Shadow price of carbon
• Often uses contingent valuation methods such as
  stated-preference or revealed preference
  techniques
• Often difficult to quantify the contribution from
  agriculture, e.g. of phosphates in river water

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Environmental Accounts for AgriculturePolicy
uses

• Brings together data across the range of complex
  environmental impacts
• Assess relative importance of different
  environmental impacts
• Shows the contribution from farming relative to
  other sectors
• Provides aggregate measure of environmental
  impact
• Monitor trends in environmental impacts over time
• Policy appraisal and evaluation including
  cost-benefit analysis

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• Environmental Accounts for Agriculture
• Initial Framework Project - Eftec
• First stage was to develop a suitable framework
  for the accounts
• Study by Eftec in 2003/04
• Published in 2004 on Defra websitehttps//statist
  ics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/envacc/eftec.asp
• Commissioned by Defra and Devolved
  administrations
• Good start, generating interest, discussion and
  responses
• BUT - gaps identified in data and methodology

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• Environmental Accounts for Agriculture
• Follow-up Jacobs' Study and SAC Overview
• Core study objectives tasks
• Clarifying endpoints for the accounts
• Summary of results
• Key scope changes
• Future issues

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• Environmental Accounts for Agriculture
• Jacobs Study objectives
• Refine the 2004 framework
• Review conceptual issues e.g. counterfactual
• Clarify the underlying accounting principles be
  sure we know what we want to measure!
• Identify and select additional valuation studies
• Recommend ways to fill gaps in data and improve
  valuations
• Final report published in Aprilhttps//statistics
  .defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/envacc/jacobreport.asp

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• Environmental Accounts for Agriculture
• Jacobs' Study and SAC different endpoints

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Environmental Accounts for AgricultureJacobs'
StudyAnnual impact (income) based values
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Environmental Accounts for AgricultureJacobs'
StudyPresent value costs from air emissions
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• Environmental Accounts for Agriculture
• Jacobs' Study Key scope changes
• New impact categories
• () disposal of sewage sludge by agriculture
  (35m)
• (-) eutrophication in lakes (20-33m)
• (-) net C storage and emission from land use and
  land use change (185m net cost)
• New regional data
• (-) S NI abstraction data
• (-) NI pollution incidents

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• Environmental Accounts for Agriculture
• Jacobs' Study Future issues
• Which end point for accounts?
• Air quality and climate change investigate an
  annual (income) based approach?
• Significant gaps remaining particularly on
  landscapes
• Conceptual challenges e.g. timescales for
  calculating natural capital depreciation
• Develop time series methodology
• Scope issues should health and social impacts
  be included in environmental accounts?
• More information available on Defra
  websitehttps//statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/repor
  ts/envacc/default.asp