III. MEASURES AND POLICY INSTRUMENTS USED FOR INTEGRATION
[ III | III-A
| III-B | III-C ]
C. Other measures
[ C-1 | C-2 | C-3
| C-4 | C-5]
2. Environmental Accounting System
At present, the Philippines is developing a national Environmental and Natural Resources Accounting System (ENRA). ENRA is aimed at developing an appropriate framework and proper procedures for environmental and natural resource valuation and accounting, in order to enhance national capacity to integrate environmental and development management concerns into socio-economic planning and decision-making.
The development of the system was initiated through a USAID-funded Environmental and Natural Resources Accounting Project. The project has undergone three phases:
(a) Phase I, which dealt with the depletion of certain natural resources of historical importance to the economy of the Philippines (e.g., forest resources);
(b) Phase II, which covered accounting for all natural
resources and environmental services, including waste disposal services; and
(c) Phase III, which dealt with refinements of Phase II and the desegregation of the accounts in regional detail, and the enhancement of institutional objectives through training and policy simulations.
In 1994, UNDP provided assistance through IEMSD for the formulation of an ENRA using the United Nations System of Environmental and Economic Accounts.
That component of the programme was implemented by the National Statistical and Coordination Board, which is the government body responsible for the generation of the national income accounts.
ENRA accounts will be incorporated in the Philippine System of National Accounts as a satellite account. To date, preliminary biophysical and monetary accounts have been established for forest, minerals and fishery.
An integrated report for those resources has already been published and will soon be disseminated to the agencies concerned.
The use of ENRA results are deemed useful for policy makers, especially for ensuring that environmental concerns are considered in the decision-making process.
For instance, initial estimates from the Philippines System of Environmental and Economic Accounts show that from 1988 to 1993, the depletion of fishery resources at current prices posted an annual depletion growth of 134.6 per cent as a result of over-fishing in coastal zones.
The report further states that "fishing capacity, particularly for demurral and small pelagic fisheries, has exceeded the sustainable levels such that the productivity of the fishery stocks is endangered." (Integrated Environmental Management and Sustainable Development - Environment and Natural Resources Accounting, 1996) That is a useful input, particularly with regard to the formulation of policies related to fishery sector.
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