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Environmental accounting for ecosystem conservation: Linking societal and ecosystem metabolisms

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  • Lomas, Pedro L.
  • Giampietro, Mario

Abstract

This paper proposes an approach to environmental accounting useful for studying the feasibility of socio-economic systems in relation to the external constraints posed by ecological compatibility. The approach is based on a multi-scale analysis of the metabolic pattern of ecosystems and societies and it provides an integrated characterization of the resulting interaction. The text starts with a theoretical part explaining (i) the implicit epistemological revolution implied by the notion of ecosystem metabolism and the fund-flow model developed by Georgescu-Roegen applied to environmental accounting, and (ii) the potentials of this approach to create indicators to assess ecological integrity and environmental impacts. This revolution also makes it possible to carry out a multi-scale integrated assessment of ecosystem and societal metabolisms at the territorial level. In the second part, two applications of this approach using an indicator of the negentropic cost show the possibility to characterize in quantitative and qualitative terms degrees of alteration (crop cultivation, tree plantations) for different biomes (tropical and boreal forests). Also, a case study for land use scenarios has been included. The proposed approach represents an integrated multi-scale tool for the analysis of nature conservation scenarios and strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Lomas, Pedro L. & Giampietro, Mario, 2017. "Environmental accounting for ecosystem conservation: Linking societal and ecosystem metabolisms," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 346(C), pages 10-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:346:y:2017:i:c:p:10-19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.12.009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simon L. Lewis & Mark A. Maslin, 2015. "Defining the Anthropocene," Nature, Nature, vol. 519(7542), pages 171-180, March.
    2. Peter Bartelmus, 2014. "Environmental–Economic Accounting: Progress and Digression in the SEEA Revisions," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(4), pages 887-904, December.
    3. Vardon, Michael & Burnett, Peter & Dovers, Stephen, 2016. "The accounting push and the policy pull: balancing environment and economic decisions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 145-152.
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    Cited by:

    1. Giampietro, Mario, 2019. "On the Circular Bioeconomy and Decoupling: Implications for Sustainable Growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 143-156.
    2. Gerber, Julien-François & Scheidel, Arnim, 2018. "In Search of Substantive Economics: Comparing Today's Two Major Socio-metabolic Approaches to the Economy – MEFA and MuSIASEM," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 186-194.
    3. Kozo MAYUMI & Mario GIAMPIETRO, 2019. "Reconsidering “Circular Economy” in Terms of Irreversible Evolution of Economic Activity and Interplay between Technosphere and Biosphere," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(2), pages 196-206, June.
    4. Zaheer Allam & David S. Jones & Can Biyik, 2021. "Introducing a global planetary ecosystem accounting in the wake of the Amazon Forest fires," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, December.

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