Technical Guidance Circulars

1The Technical Guidance provides a comprehensive, modular methodology for compiling ocean accounts — structured frameworks that integrate environmental, economic, and social data about marine and coastal systems. It is designed for a diverse readership, from national statisticians and ecosystem analysts to policy executives and finance practitioners. Each circular is self-contained, so you can read them in any order that suits your needs.

Circular Sections

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Compendium (PDF) — every listed circular, latest version, in section order, in three volumes. Each circular's own page also offers its PDF, HTML, Word and presentation exports.

Section 0: Concepts, Definitions and Front Matter

Foundation materials including conceptual framework, standards overview, and quality assurance principles.

ID	Title	Badge	Status
0.1	General Introduction to Ocean Accounts	Core	Completed
0.2	Overview of Relevant Statistical Standards	Core	Draft
0.3	General Acknowledgements	Core	Draft
0.4	Structure and Focus of the Technical Guidance	Core	Draft
0.5	Navigating the Technical Guidance	Core	Draft
0.6	Glossary of Key Terms	Core	Draft
0.7	Quality Assurance Principles	Applied	Draft
0.8	Implementation Readiness Assessment	Applied	Draft

Section 1: Using Ocean Accounts in Decision-Making

How ocean accounts inform policy, planning, finance, and management decisions.

ID	Title	Badge	Status
1.0	Ocean Accounting and the Blue/Ocean Economy	Applied	Draft
1.1	OA and National Budget Processes	Applied	Draft
1.2	OA and Marine Spatial Planning	Applied	Draft
1.3	OA and Marine Spatial Management (including MPAs)	Applied	Draft
1.4	OA and Sustainable Ocean Planning	Applied	Draft
1.5	OA and Fisheries Management	Applied	Draft
1.6	OA and Environmental Impact Assessment	Applied	Draft
1.7	OA and Multilateral Development Finance	Applied	Draft
1.8	OA and Project-Level Finance	Applied	Draft
1.9	Safe Usage of Monetary Valuation	Core	Draft
1.10	OA and National Planning Integration	Applied	Draft
1.11	Ocean Accounts and Private Sector Decision-Making	Emerging	Draft
1.12	OA and Blue Tagging of Public Expenditure and Finance	Emerging	Draft

Section 2: Compiling Indicators from Ocean Accounts

Guidance on deriving indicators for policy monitoring and reporting.

ID	Title	Badge	Status
2.1	Aggregate Biophysical Indicators of Environmental State	Applied	Draft
2.2	Macro-economic Dependencies on Ocean Ecosystems Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
2.3	Social and Livelihood Dependencies on Ocean Ecosystems	Applied	Draft
2.4	Environmental (including Ecosystem) Goods and Services	Applied	Draft
2.5	Structure and Function of the Ocean Economy	Applied	Draft
2.6	Ocean-related Investment	Applied	Draft
2.7	Pollution and Other Flows to Environment	Applied	Draft
2.8	Climate Change Indicators	Applied	Draft
2.9	Disaster Risk Indicators Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
2.10	Multilateral Environmental Agreement Indicators	Applied	Draft
2.11	Resource Efficiency Indicators	Applied	Draft
2.12	Spatial Data Frameworks	Applied	Draft
2.13	Governance and Institutional Indicators	Emerging	Draft

Section 3: Compiling Ocean Accounts from Relevant Data

Core methodology for building accounts tables.

ID	Title	Badge	Status
3.1	Asset Accounts	Applied	Draft
3.2	Flows from Environment to Economy	Applied	Draft
3.3	Economic Activity Relevant to the Ocean	Applied	Draft
3.4	Flows from Economy to Environment	Applied	Draft
3.5	Social Accounts	Emerging	Draft
3.6	Traditional Knowledge	Emerging	Draft
3.7	Governance Accounts	Emerging	Draft
3.8	Combined Presentations	Applied	Draft
3.9	Aquaculture Accounts	Applied	Draft
3.10	Offshore Energy Accounts	Applied	Draft
3.11	Sub-National Ocean Accounts	Emerging	Draft
3.12	Accounting for People Forthcoming	Emerging	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
3.13	Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Forthcoming	Emerging	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
3.14	Ethics and Data Governance Forthcoming	Emerging	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
3.15	Quantitative-Qualitative Integration Forthcoming	Emerging	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
3.16	Quality Assurance and Quality Control of Ocean Asset Accounts	Applied	Draft

Section 4: Compiling and Producing Data

Data collection, processing, and quality assurance methods.

ID	Title	Badge	Status
4.1	Remote Sensing and Geospatial Data	Applied	Draft
4.2	Survey Methods for Ocean Economic Activity	Applied	Draft
4.3	Administrative Data Sources	Applied	Draft
4.4	Citizen Science and Community-Based Monitoring	Emerging	Draft
4.5	Integrating Research Data into Official Statistics	Applied	Draft
4.6	Data Harmonisation and Interoperability	Applied	Draft
4.7	National Data Coordination Architectures	Applied	Draft
4.8	Physical Condition Measurement	Applied	Draft
4.9	Biological Condition Measurement	Applied	Draft
4.10	Extending Fisheries Statistics for Ecosystem-Based Management	Applied	Draft
4.11	Aligning Research Statistical Modelling with Official Statistical Methods	Applied	Draft
4.12	Transboundary Data Sharing and Integration	Applied	Draft

Section 5: Geographic and Thematic Case Studies

Real-world implementation examples from partner countries. Case studies are forthcoming and will be developed in collaboration with country teams.

ID	Title	Badge	Status
5.1	Australia Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.2	Belize Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.3	Fiji Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.4	India Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.5	Indonesia Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.6	Maldives Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.7	Thailand Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.8	United States Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.9	Vanuatu Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.10	Vietnam Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.11	Kenya Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation
5.13	Madagascar Forthcoming	Applied	Forthcoming — not yet released for consultation

Section 6: Thematic Methodologies

Deep-dive methodologies for specific ecosystem types and sectors.

ID	Title	Badge	Status
6.1	Coral Reef Ecosystem Accounting	Applied	Draft
6.2	Mangrove and Coastal Wetland Accounting	Applied	Draft
6.3	Seagrass Ecosystem Accounting	Applied	Draft
6.4	Kelp Forest and Temperate Reef Accounting	Emerging	Draft
6.5	Pelagic and Open Ocean Accounting	Emerging	Draft
6.6	Deep Sea and ABNJ Accounting	Emerging	Draft
6.7	Fisheries Accounting: Integrating Stock Assessment	Applied	Draft
6.8	Aquaculture Thematic Methods	Applied	Draft
6.9	Offshore Energy Thematic Methods	Emerging	Draft
6.10	Maritime Transport and Ports	Applied	Draft
6.11	Coastal Infrastructure Accounting	Applied	Draft
6.12	Marine Litter and Plastics Accounting	Applied	Draft
6.13	Freshwater-Marine Interaction Accounting	Emerging	Draft
6.14	Marine and Coastal Tourism Accounting	Applied	Draft
6.15	Ocean Accounting for Nature-based Solutions	Emerging	Draft

Stability Classification

1Circulars are classified by their stability:

Badge	Meaning
Core	Based on adopted international standards (2025 SNA, SEEA CF, SEEA EA)
Applied	Interprets standards for ocean context; stable but may evolve
Emerging	Addresses topics where standards are still developing

2See Circular 0.5: Navigating the Technical Guidance for full details on versioning and audience pathways.

About the Technical Guidance

1The Technical Guidance on Ocean Accounting is developed by the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) to support national and subnational implementation of ocean accounts. Circulars are published on a monthly cadence following Secretariat review.

2For more information about GOAP, visit the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership.