SEEA-Water and IRWS Statistical standards for

water information

United Nations Statistics Division Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Outline

The International Recommendations for Water Statistics (IRWS) The System of Environmental-Economic Accounts for Water (SEEA-W) The SEEA-Water and IRWS in the context of official statistics 5th World Water Forum

International Recommendations for Water Statistics (IRWS)

Tool to develop and strengthen water information system in countries Provides agreed definitions and classifications of water data items classified • Uses a hierarchical structure Provides guidance on how to organize the data compilation Shows the link between these data items and: • Standard tables of the SEEA-W • International water indicators (e.g WWDR)

The SEEA-Water System approach to water information Presents stocks and flows of water Links the physical information to the economic accounts Shows water-related expenditures • investment in hydraulic infrastructures • fees paid by whom • costs of collection, purification, distribution and

treatment • water rights Set of standard tables

Water statistics - IRWS Often developed to address individual issues or questions

Often not easy to relate to other issues

Often not able to be integrated with economic statistics

Difficult to be sure all relevant information is included

Data items

Water accounts – SEEA-Water

Is a framework for organising data items using a system approach Organise information in terms of stocks and flows Cover the hydrological system and links it to the economy Help to make sense of the entire picture by showing the inter-relationships

Data items organised within a frame

Water statistics, accounts and audiences

Amount of data e.g. data regarding water resources, water supply and

sanitation, or economic activities and water

Information pyramid

Increasing aggregation of information

e.g. Decision makers, and the general public, managers analysts

and researchers

e.g. Managers, analysts and researchers

e.g. Researchers and others conducting detailed

analytical research

Audiences

Macro data

Micro data

Water statistics e.g. basic aggregates at the data item level, time series

Water accounts

Water

indicators

Water Accounts

The SEEA-Water and IRWS in the context of official statistics

Data

Data Quality Assessment Frameworks

Metadata and documentation (e.g. SDMX)

ISIC, CPC, Asset Classification, Class. of Environmental Activities, Class. of Physical Flows etc

Input frameworks

Cross functional

frameworks

SEEA

e.g. IRWS

Other water statistics

Compilation Material

SEEA-W

Energy balances

e.g. IRES

Compilation Material

SEEA-E Output

frameworks

Systems frameworks

Intermediate frameworks

SEEA-Water and IRWS international statistical standards SEEA-Water was adopted as an “interim” international statistical standard by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) at its 38th session in March 2007 IRWS was adopted as an international recommendations by the UNSC at its 41st session in Feb 2010 UNSC recommended their implementation in countries UNSD under the auspices of the UN Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting is leading the implementation strategy for the SEEA-Water and IRWS in collaboration with the regional commissions and water institutions (e.g. WWAP, UN Water, SG Advisory Board on Water, etc.)

48 Countries have, or are planning, water accounts

Andorra Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Botswana Brazil Canada China Colombia Denmark Dominican Republic Egypt Estonia

France Germany Greece Guatemala Hungary Iraq Israel Italy Jordan Lebanon Mauritius Mexico Namibia Netherlands Norway New Zealand

Occupied Palestinian Terr. Oman Panama Peru Philippines Portugal Romania Singapore Tunisia Turkey South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Trinidad and Tobago Ukraine United Kingdom

Global Assessment of Water Statistics and Water Accounts (GAWSWA) + Additional information http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/doc09/BG-WaterAccounts.pdf

5th World Water Forum – Topic 6.4 Data for all

The 5th World Water Forum agreed: • Lack of integrated water data to inform

decision making • Need not only physical data on quantity but

also data on quality and monetary data • Need strong legal and institutional

arrangements The SEEA-Water offers a coherent and

valuable framework to support national data collection and is an important part of the way forward”

Thank you Contact:

seea@un.org

For more information please see: • The SEEA-W

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/seeaw.asp

• The IRWS http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/irws/ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/doc10/BG-WaterStats.pdf

• Global Assessment for Water Statistics and Accounts http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/ceea/surveyWAS.asp

• Strategy for the implementation of the SEEA-W and IRWS http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/ceea/meetings/UNCEEA-4-16.pdf

• Archive of publications on environmental-economic accounting http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/ceea/archive/Introduction.asp

Physical water assets: Standard Table XII physical units

EA.131 Surface water

EA.132 Groundwater

EA.133 Soil

water Total EA.1311

Reservoirs EA.1312

Lakes EA.1313 Rivers

EA.1314 Snow, Ice

and Glaciers

Opening Stocks

Increases in stocks

Returns from the economy

Precipitation

Inflows

from upstream territories

from other resources in t territory

Decreases in stocks

Abstraction

of which Sustainable use

Evaporation/Actual evapotranspiration

Outflows

to downstream territories

to the sea

to other resources in the territory

Other changes in volume

Closing Stocks

Evaporation

Transpiration Precipitation

(dew, mist, rain, sleet, hail, snow)

Groundwater (aquifers)

Surface water (rivers, lakes, glaciers)

Sea/ocean

Infiltration

Evaporation

Soilwater

Basic concepts and definitions

Economic activity/ Households

Use

From the environment (abstraction)

From another economic unit

Supply

To the environment (returns)

To another economic unit

Evapotranspiration

Consumption

Consumption

Physical water use: Standard Table I Physical units

Industries (by ISIC categories)

Households

Rest of the

world

Total

1-3

5-33, 41-43 35 36 37

38,39, 45-99

Total

From the environment

U1 - Total abstraction (=a.1+a.2= b.1+b.2):

a.1- Abstraction for own use

a.2- Abstraction for distribution

b.1- From water resources:

Surface water

Groundwater

Soil water

b.2- From other sources

Collection of precipitation

Abstraction from the sea

Within the economy

U2 - Use of water received from other economic units

U=U1+U2 - Total use of water

Includes green water

Agriculture

Services Water supply Energy

Mining and manufacture

Sewerage

Physical water supply: Standard Table II Physical units

Industries (by ISIC categories)

Households

Rest of the world

Total 1-3

5-33, 41-43 35 36 37

38,39, 45-99

Total

Within the economy

S1 - Supply of water to other economic units

of which: Reused water

Wastewater to sewerage

To the environment

S2 - Total returns (= d.1+d.2)

d.1- To water resources

Surface water

Groundwater

Soil water

d.2- To other sources (e.g. Sea water)

S - Total supply of water (= S1+S2)

Consumption (U - S)

Hybrid water use: Standard Table VI Physical and monetary units

Intermediate consumption of industries (by ISIC categories) Actual final consumption

Capital formatio

n

Exports

Total uses at purchaser’s price 1-3

5-33, 41-43

35

36 37

38,39, 45-99

Total industry

Households

Government

Total

of which: Hydro

Final consumption

expenditu

res

Social

transfers

in kind from

Governme

nt and

NPISHs Total

Total intermediate consumption and use (monetary units)

of which: Natural water (CPC 1800)

Sewerage services (CPC 941)

Total value added (monetary units)

Total use of water (physical units)

U1 - Total Abstraction

of which: a.1- Abstraction for own use

U2 - Use of water received from other economic units

Summary The SEEA-Water and the IRWS are supplementary publications forming the information system for water • in the context of official statistics

They constitute a tool to develop and organize water information in a coherent system Allow for integrating information from different sources also with economic information Allow for the identification of data gaps and overlaps Provide a useful tool for Integrated Water Resources Management Provide a tool for water monitoring and policy analysis not only in the water context but more broadly