Combined Presentations

Essential prerequisites:

• TG-0.1 General Introduction to Ocean Accounts: conceptual framework and key components of Ocean Accounts
• TG-3.1 Asset Accounts: methodology of physical and monetary asset accounts

Helpful background:

• TG-0.2 Overview of Relevant Statistical Standards: classification frameworks and international statistical standards
• TG-3.2 Flows Environment to Economy: physical flow accounting of natural resource extraction and ecosystem service use
• TG-3.3 Economic Activity Relevant to the Ocean: ocean economy thematic and extended accounting framework
• TG-3.4 Flows Economy to Environment: residual flow accounts documenting pressures on the marine environment

The SEEA Ecosystem Accounting framework recognises that policy and analysis related to the environment and human connection to it can be framed in many ways, often requiring consideration of specific environmental themes such as biodiversity, climate change, oceans, and urban areas. The ocean accounts framework responds to this need by integrating data from the SEEA Central Framework, SEEA Ecosystem Accounting, and the System of National Accounts into a coherent information set that supports decision-making for ocean governance.

Combined presentations enable decision-makers to monitor several trends: changes in ocean ecosystem extent and condition; changes in ocean wealth including produced and non-produced assets; ocean-related income and welfare for different groups of people; ocean-based economic production; and changes in how oceans are governed and managed. These feed a range of ocean governance processes including marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management, development planning for ocean sectors, and collaborative resource management.

The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) develops and promotes the ocean accounts framework internationally. The SEEA EA recognises the existence of an “ocean accounting community of practice” whose objective is to ensure that data common to multiple communities—including those for marine spatial planning, disaster risk, and climate change—are standardised and shared. The GOAP has supported pilot studies in several countries (see Section 3.2) and continues to advance methodological guidance for implementing combined presentations.

The core components of an integrated ocean account framework are:

Environmental accounts comprise the physical and monetary measurement of ocean-related environmental assets and flows:

• Extent accounts for coastal and marine ecosystem types (see TG-3.1 Asset Accounts)
• Condition accounts recording ecosystem health indicators (see TG-2.1 Aggregate Biophysical Indicators of Environmental State)
• Ecosystem services flow accounts in physical and monetary terms (see TG-2.4 Ecosystem Goods and Services)
• Individual environmental asset accounts for fish stocks, minerals, and energy resources
• Physical flow accounts for pressures including emissions and waste (see TG-3.4 Flows Economy to Environment)

Economic accounts document the contribution of the ocean to economic activity:

The SEEA EA identifies three key principles that enable accounts for different themes to be combined into coherent presentations:

First, there must be a clearly agreed geographical area. For ocean accounting, this is the ocean accounting area, which typically aligns with a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) plus territorial waters and coastal zones. For thematic presentations, a focus on more targeted areas (e.g., specific catchments, marine protected areas, or ecosystem types) may be appropriate. The delineation of geographical areas should follow the guidance in TG-0.1 General Introduction to Ocean Accounts regarding the ocean accounting area.

Second, there must be a set of entities that are the focus of accounting. In ecosystem accounting, the focus is on ecosystems; in the SNA, the focus is on economic units; in the Central Framework, the focus is on individual stocks and flows. Combined presentations integrate multiple entity types, requiring consistent classifications that allow linkages across domains. The classification frameworks described in TG-0.2 Overview of Relevant Statistical Standards provide the basis for this consistency.

Third, multiple accounts are required to organise relevant information for a single theme. The SEEA and SNA frameworks demonstrate that no single account captures all relevant information. The same applies to combined presentations: a coherent narrative for ocean sustainability requires extent accounts, condition accounts, service flow accounts, economic accounts, and potentially social and governance accounts.

Links between accounts are possible because of consistent application of a delineated geographical boundary and consistent classifications for agreed entities. This allows combined presentations to convey a coherent narrative, support derivation of consistent indicators, and enable integration of data into models and analytical tools.

A distinctive feature of combined presentations is the integration of physical and monetary data to provide complementary perspectives on ocean resources. Physical accounts record stocks and flows in tonnes, hectares, cubic metres, or number of individuals; monetary accounts translate these into currency values that can be aggregated and compared with economic aggregates.

Three approaches to physical-monetary integration are relevant for ocean accounting:

Parallel presentation displays physical and monetary accounts side by side, allowing users to examine both dimensions. This approach is particularly useful when physical quantities and monetary values diverge—for example, when the monetary value of a fish stock increases due to rising prices even as physical biomass declines. Parallel presentation preserves information in both dimensions without implying that one takes precedence. The asset account structure in TG-3.1 Asset Accounts provides the foundation for parallel presentation of physical and monetary data.

Extended supply and use tables incorporate physical flows alongside monetary transactions. The SEEA EA describes how physical supply and use tables for ecosystem services can be linked to monetary supply and use tables, enabling analysis of the physical basis of economic activity. For the ocean economy, this approach reveals the material throughput underlying economic output. The supply and use framework in TG-3.3 Economic Activity Relevant to the Ocean provides the basis for this integration.

Linking ecosystem services to economic activity

Linking ecosystem services from marine ecosystems to economic activity is a central integration task. The SEEA EA framework provides the conceptual basis: ecosystem services represent the contributions of ecosystems to benefits, with ecosystem services flow accounts recording the supply by ecosystem types and the use by economic units and households.

For combined presentations, the linkage can be illustrated by tracing provisioning services through to economic output, as summarised in Table 3.2.1 below.

This sequence illustrates how combined presentations trace the pathway from ecosystem assets through ecosystem services to economic activity and social outcomes.

The ocean accounts framework has supported pilot studies across several countries, each answering policy-relevant questions through combined presentations. The pilot studies in Samoa, Thailand, and Viet Nam centred on sustainable tourism, linking tourism income, natural resource use, land-based pollution, and ecosystem impacts. China’s pilot developed harmonised mangrove maps and improved understanding of environmental assets in Beihai Bay. Malaysia examined food security risk concerning fish stocks along the Straits of Malacca under expected future climate variability. All pilots depended on available data that were often limited, but one function of the ocean accounts framework was to guide the search for and integration of data.

These experiences demonstrate that combined presentations can be compiled even with partial data coverage. Compilers should begin with available accounts and progressively expand coverage as data systems mature, following the incremental implementation approach described in TG-0.1 General Introduction to Ocean Accounts.

Combined presentations should explicitly address discrepancies between physical and monetary trends, as these often reveal important information for policy. Common discrepancies include:

• Declining physical stocks with stable or increasing values: Rising scarcity can increase unit prices faster than stocks decline, masking physical depletion in monetary terms. This is particularly relevant for fisheries where declining catch per unit effort (CPUE) may coincide with increasing fish prices.
• Increasing physical stocks with declining values: Abundance can reduce unit prices, potentially reducing incentives for sustainable management
• Unvalued ecosystem services: Many regulating and cultural services from marine ecosystems are not captured in monetary accounts, creating gaps between fuller physical measures and partial monetary values. The treatment of ecosystem services valuation in TG-1.9 Safe Usage of Monetary Valuation addresses these measurement challenges.

The SEEA EA notes that “monetary values may be a poor guide to physical sustainability” and recommends that combined presentations include both physical and monetary information.

3.3 Including Social and Governance Dimensions

Combined presentations for ocean accounting extend beyond environmental and economic data to incorporate social and governance dimensions, following the full scope of the ocean accounts framework.

The 2025 SNA recognises that national accounts contribute to measuring wellbeing and sustainability beyond GDP, including through extended accounts for labour, human capital, and household distributional analysis. For ocean accounting, social dimensions include:

Distributional analysis examines how the benefits and costs of ocean use are distributed across population groups. Combined presentations can show, for example:

• How ocean economy employment is distributed by region, gender, and age group (see TG-3.5 Social Accounts, Section 3.6.2)
• How coastal ecosystem degradation disproportionately affects vulnerable communities (see TG-3.5 Social Accounts, Section 3.3)
• How access to marine recreation varies across income groups

Wellbeing indicators complement monetary measures with broader dimensions of quality of life. The social accounts guidance in TG-3.5 Social Accounts identifies relevant domains including employment quality, food security, health, and cultural connections to the ocean.

Vulnerability and resilience measures document the susceptibility of communities to ocean-related shocks and their capacity to adapt. Combined presentations can integrate data on:

• Economic dependence on ocean sectors
• Exposure to environmental pressures and pollution (see TG-2.7 Pollution and Other Flows to Environment)
• Adaptive capacity indicators

Governance accounts document the institutional arrangements that shape ocean use and management (see TG-3.7 Governance Accounts). For combined presentations, governance data provides context for interpreting environmental and economic trends:

Marine spatial planning accounts show the allocation of ocean space across different uses, enabling analysis of how spatial planning decisions relate to ecosystem condition and economic outcomes.

Protected area coverage accounts document the extent of marine protected areas and other area-based conservation measures, which can be related to ecosystem condition and ecosystem service flows. SDG indicator 14.5.1 measures “Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas”.

Management effectiveness indicators assess whether governance arrangements are achieving their objectives, providing context for understanding why environmental or economic outcomes are improving or declining.

The SEEA EA describes governance accounts as including “explicit consideration of institutional and legal frameworks such as zoning, rules and decision-making institutions, social circumstances of affected populations, and measures of ocean-related risks and resilience to them”.

3.4 Compilation Procedure for Combined Presentations

This procedure assumes that the underlying component accounts have already been compiled following the guidance in the relevant circulars (TG-3.1 through TG-3.7). The steps below address the additional work needed to combine those accounts into an integrated presentation.

Step 1: Define the policy question and presentation scope

The compilation process begins with defining the policy question the combined presentation will address. This determines which accounts to include, the geographical scope, and the temporal frame. SEEA CF para. 6.56 emphasises that “the structures of combined presentations of monetary and physical data are dependent on the availability of data and the question under investigation”.

For ocean accounting, typical policy questions include:

• Is the ocean economy growing sustainably? (requires asset accounts, economic accounts, and depletion measures)
• How do coastal protection benefits from ecosystems compare to infrastructure costs? (requires ecosystem service accounts, ecosystem extent/condition accounts, and public expenditure accounts)
• Are fishing communities benefiting from improved fish stock management? (requires fish stock asset accounts, economic accounts for fisheries, and social accounts for fishing-dependent communities)

Once the policy question is defined, compilers should document:

Before combining accounts, compilers must ensure consistent classifications and boundary definitions. The SEEA CF notes that “any differences in classification need to be resolved before physical and monetary data are combined” (para. 6.88).

Key reconciliation tasks include:

Geographical boundaries: Verify that all accounts refer to the same ocean accounting area. Where accounts use different spatial units (e.g., administrative regions versus ecosystem spatial units), establish concordance tables or spatial overlays to enable consistent aggregation.

Time periods: Align all accounts to a common reference period. The SEEA CF emphasises that “it is important to ensure that the source data underpinning the physical and the monetary data relate to the same accounting period” (para. 6.71). Where accounts use different reference dates (e.g., fiscal year versus calendar year, or biological stock assessment periods versus accounting years), document the adjustments made.

Product and industry classifications: Ensure that ocean economy accounts, supply-use tables, and physical flow accounts use consistent classifications. Map national classifications to ISIC (industries) and CPC (products) as described in TG-0.2 Overview of Relevant Statistical Standards.

Ecosystem type classifications: Confirm that extent accounts, condition accounts, and ecosystem service accounts use the same ecosystem type classification, typically based on the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology for marine biomes.

Measurement units: Standardise physical units across accounts. For example, ensure fish biomass is consistently measured in tonnes (live weight), ecosystem extent in square kilometres, and carbon flows in tonnes CO2-equivalent.

Step 4: Structure the presentation format

With component accounts identified and classifications reconciled, compilers design the presentation format. The SEEA CF describes a general structure (Table 6.4) that can be adapted for ocean themes, comprising four sections:

Section A: Monetary flows

Key accounting identities to verify:

• Supply equals use: For each product in monetary terms and each physical flow, total supply must equal total use
• Stock-flow consistency: Changes in asset stocks (closing stock minus opening stock) must equal net additions (total additions minus total reductions)
• Physical-monetary consistency: For marketed flows, the ratio of monetary value to physical quantity must yield plausible unit prices
• GVA aggregation: Sum of GVA across ocean industries must equal ocean economy GVA reported in economic accounts

Where discrepancies arise, compilers should investigate whether they result from:

• Differences in scope between accounts (e.g., residence versus territory recording)
• Timing mismatches (e.g., production versus consumption timing)
• Genuine data errors requiring correction in source accounts
• Conceptual differences requiring explanatory notes

Step 6: Add contextual information and interpretation

The final step is adding contextual information that helps users interpret the combined presentation. The SEEA CF notes that combined presentations “have the potential to serve as a bridge between” scientists and economists (para. 6.59), requiring clear communication for diverse audiences.

Essential contextual elements include:

Dashboards provide a compact format for presenting key indicators drawn from combined accounts. The SEEA Central Framework describes combined presentations that bring together information from various accounts to support decision-making. For ocean accounting, effective dashboards typically include:

Headline indicators that summarise overall status:

• Total extent of marine and coastal ecosystems (from extent accounts)
• Aggregate ecosystem condition index (see TG-2.1 Aggregate Biophysical Indicators of Environmental State)
• Ocean economy contribution to GDP (see TG-3.3 Economic Activity Relevant to the Ocean)
• Ocean-dependent employment (see TG-3.5 Social Accounts)

Trend indicators that show change over time:

Table 1 provides an illustrative indicator template organised by account domain, drawing on indicator categories derived from ocean accounts. Compilers should adapt this template to national circumstances and priority policy questions.

Table 1: Illustrative Ocean Accounts Dashboard Indicator Template

Combined presentations support derivation of indicators that span multiple account types. Examples relevant to ocean accounting include:

Efficiency indicators that relate economic output to environmental inputs:

• Gross value added per tonne of fish harvested
• Employment per hectare of aquaculture
• Carbon emissions per unit of maritime transport output (see TG-2.11 Resource Efficiency)

Sustainability indicators that relate extraction to regeneration:

The SEEA EA notes that “there is the potential for data from the accounts to support climate change modelling focused on implications of projected climate change scenarios on economic activity”. Combined presentations provide the integrated ‘data foundation’ for such analytical applications. In the ocean context, indicators derivable from ocean accounts include specific measures for ocean conditions such as acidification and concentrations of marine debris, as well as indicators for ocean-related beneficiaries such as income of small-scale fishers.

Effective communication of combined presentations requires attention to audience needs. Key considerations include:

Policy relevance: Combined presentations should be organised around policy questions, not accounting structures. For example, a presentation addressing coastal resilience might draw on extent accounts (mangrove coverage), condition accounts (ecosystem health), economic accounts (coastal protection infrastructure), and social accounts (vulnerable populations).

Accessibility: Technical accounting detail should be supported by summary visualisations and plain-language interpretation. The SEEA EA notes that combined presentations “can be a useful tool for mainstreaming discussion” of environmental themes in broader policy discourse.

Transparency: Combined presentations should document data sources, methods, and limitations, enabling users to assess confidence in the information presented. Quality assurance considerations from TG-0.7 Quality Assurance Principles apply to combined presentations.

3.6 Extended Balance Sheets

Extended balance sheets are a specific type of combined presentation that integrates natural capital with conventional national balance sheets, supporting whole-of-ocean wealth accounting.

The 2025 SNA describes how balance sheets record the value of assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of accounting periods, with the balancing item being net worth. For whole-of-economy wealth accounting, the scope of assets can be extended to include natural assets not traditionally recorded in national balance sheets.

For ocean accounting, extended balance sheets incorporate:

Produced assets including vessels, ports, aquaculture infrastructure, and offshore energy installations. These are recorded in conventional national balance sheets and can be allocated to ocean-related sectors. The SEEA EA notes that ocean wealth includes “produced assets (e.g. ports)”.

Non-produced natural assets including:

• Marine fish stocks and other aquatic resources (see TG-3.1 Asset Accounts, Section 3.3)
• Seabed mineral and energy resources (see TG-3.10 Offshore Energy Accounts)
• Coastal land resources

Ecosystem assets representing the monetary value of marine and coastal ecosystems. The SEEA EA provides guidance on valuing ecosystem assets using net present value of expected ecosystem service flows. Valuation follows the methods described in TG-1.9 Safe Usage of Monetary Valuation.

Extended balance sheets support derivation of ocean wealth indicators that complement flow-based measures like ocean economy GDP:

Total ocean wealth: The aggregate value of all ocean-related assets, including produced assets, natural resources, and ecosystem assets.

Ocean wealth per capita: Total ocean wealth divided by population, providing a measure of the asset base supporting each person’s potential ocean-derived wellbeing.

Ocean wealth change: The change in total ocean wealth between accounting periods, decomposed into:

• Capital formation (investment in produced assets)
• Natural growth (regeneration of renewable resources)
• Depletion (extraction exceeding sustainable yield)
• Degradation (decline in ecosystem asset values)
• Revaluation (price changes)

Ocean wealth sustainability: The relationship between ocean wealth change and ocean economy output. Sustainable development implies that wealth is at least maintained over time; depletion of ocean wealth to support current consumption represents unsustainable use. This indicator connects to the sustainability indicators in TG-2.11 Resource Efficiency Indicators.

Extended balance sheets for ocean wealth face several limitations that should be communicated in combined presentations:

Valuation challenges: Monetary valuation of ecosystem assets remains methodologically challenging, with the SEEA EA valuation chapters adopted as recommendations rather than full international standards. Extended balance sheets should present valuations with appropriate uncertainty characterisation.

Boundary issues: Ecosystem assets may provide services beyond national economic territory, creating challenges for allocating values to national balance sheets. This is particularly relevant for migratory fish stocks and ecosystem services with transboundary effects. The SEEA EA notes the opportunity to compile global ocean accounts for areas beyond national jurisdiction, where much data are already collected by international agencies.

Non-substitutability: Monetary aggregation of produced and natural assets may suggest substitutability that does not exist ecologically. Extended balance sheets should be accompanied by physical accounts that reveal whether natural asset decline is being offset by produced capital or represents genuine wealth loss.

Combined presentations carry the most policy weight when assembled into integrated ocean dashboards that present headline indicators across all four accounting domains (environmental, economic, social, and governance) in a single view. This section specifies the structure, indicator selection criteria, and layout for an ocean dashboard that can serve as the primary communication product of an ocean accounting programme. The dashboard design draws on the indicator categories identified in Table 1 (Section 3.5) and extends them into a fuller specification suitable for both printed reports and interactive web-based platforms.

Headline indicators by domain

An effective ocean dashboard presents a small number of headline indicators that together convey the overall status of the ocean-society relationship. The selection of headline indicators should satisfy three criteria: policy relevance (the indicator addresses a question that decision-makers actively consider), data availability (the indicator can be compiled from existing or planned accounts), and communicability (the indicator can be understood by non-specialist audiences). The following table specifies the recommended headline indicator set, organised by the four domains of the ocean accounts framework.

Table 3.7.1: Integrated ocean dashboard headline indicators

Countries should adapt this indicator set to national circumstances, adding or replacing indicators to reflect priority policy questions. However, maintaining a consistent core set enables international comparison and benchmarking through the GOAP community of practice.

The dashboard should follow a two-tier layout: a single-page summary providing the overall picture at a glance, and a set of drill-down pages providing detailed analysis for each domain. This structure allows the dashboard to serve multiple audiences: ministers and executives who need a rapid overview, and technical analysts who require detailed breakdowns.

The single-page summary should present the sixteen headline indicators in a quadrant layout (environmental top-left, economic top-right, social bottom-left, governance bottom-right), with each indicator showing the current value, the trend direction (improving, stable, or declining), and the percentage change from the previous period. A central panel should display one to three cross-domain integration indicators such as depletion-adjusted GVA per capita or the ratio of ecosystem service value to ocean economy output. Colour coding (green for improving, amber for stable, red for declining) provides immediate visual assessment, though the dashboard should remain interpretable in greyscale for printed reports and accessibility.

Each drill-down page should present the full indicator set for one domain, accompanied by time-series charts showing trends over a minimum of five years (where data permit), spatial maps showing geographic variation across the accounting area, and explanatory text highlighting key patterns and policy implications. The drill-down pages should cross-reference related indicators in other domains; for example, the environmental drill-down should note the economic value of ecosystem services, and the economic drill-down should flag depletion and degradation adjustments. Data tables supporting each drill-down page should be published as downloadable datasets in machine-readable formats, following the interoperability standards described in TG-4.6 Data Harmonisation and Interoperability.

Table 3.7.2: Dashboard layout specification

Integrating data across environmental, economic, and social domains is the central difficulty of combined presentations. Whilst the compilation procedure in Section 3.4 describes the general workflow, this section provides a step-by-step protocol for linking specific account types across domain boundaries. The protocol addresses four integration pathways frequently encountered in ocean accounting: linking land accounts to coastal zone accounts, connecting water accounts to marine quality indicators, integrating blue carbon into national greenhouse gas inventories, and reconciling plastics flows with waste accounts.

Land accounts to coastal zone

Terrestrial land accounts compiled under the SEEA Central Framework and SEEA Ecosystem Accounting record land use and land cover for national territory, typically stopping at the coastline. Ocean accounts record marine and coastal ecosystem extent from the coastline seaward. The integration protocol bridges these two domains to provide a continuous picture of the land-sea interface, supporting analysis of how land-based activities affect coastal and marine ecosystems.

The concordance should explicitly address transitional ecosystems (mangroves, salt marshes, estuaries) that may appear in both land and ocean accounts, ensuring they are counted once and allocated consistently. Third, compile a linked extent account that shows land use change in the coastal strip alongside marine ecosystem extent change in the nearshore zone, enabling analysis of how coastal development drives marine habitat loss. Fourth, verify consistency by checking that land-based pollution loads recorded in the residual flow accounts (TG-3.4) are physically plausible given the land use composition of the coastal strip.

Table 3.8.1: Land-coastal zone integration checklist

Water accounts to marine quality

Fourth, the resulting pollutant load estimates should be reconciled with marine water quality observations from coastal monitoring programmes, checking that the estimated loads are consistent with observed concentrations given the dilution and assimilative capacity of receiving waters. Discrepancies may indicate unaccounted pollution sources (such as atmospheric deposition or groundwater discharge) or errors in load estimation.

Table 3.8.2: Water-marine quality integration protocol

Blue carbon to GHG inventories

Blue carbon integration links carbon stock data from ocean extent and condition accounts to national GHG inventories, ensuring consistent treatment of mangrove, seagrass, salt marsh, and kelp carbon flows under IPCC wetlands guidance. For the full blue carbon integration protocol, including the stock decomposition method, IPCC category mapping, and reconciliation checklist, see TG-6.2 Mangrove and Coastal Wetland Accounting.

Plastics to waste accounts

Marine plastic pollution is a priority policy concern that requires integration of data from waste accounts (recording plastic waste generation, collection, and disposal), residual flow accounts (recording plastic leakage to the marine environment), and marine debris monitoring (recording plastic concentrations in coastal and marine waters). The integration protocol links these data streams to provide a complete material flow account for plastics from production through to marine accumulation.

Table 3.8.4: Plastics material flow reconciliation

3.9 Sub-National Combined Presentations

Many ocean governance decisions are made at sub-national scales: by provincial governments, municipal authorities, port authorities, and local marine management bodies. This section provides guidance on adapting the combined presentation format for sub-national application, recognising that sub-national compilers typically face more constrained data environments and require simplified indicator sets that can be compiled with available resources.

Adapting the framework for provinces and municipalities

The ocean accounts framework and the combined presentation structure described in Sections 3.1 through 3.8 are designed primarily for national-level application, but the SEEA EA explicitly notes that accounting principles are applicable across different spatial scales. Sub-national combined presentations follow the same general structure (environmental, economic, social, and governance domains) but require adaptation in three areas: spatial scope, data sources, and indicator selection.

For spatial scope, sub-national combined presentations should define the accounting area with reference to existing administrative boundaries (province, district, municipality) and the adjacent marine area over which the sub-national authority exercises jurisdiction or management responsibility. Where the sub-national authority does not have formal marine jurisdiction, the accounting area may be defined as the coastal zone within its terrestrial boundary plus a seaward extension agreed with the national ocean accounting programme. The spatial unit guidance in TG-2.12 Spatial Data Frameworks applies, with the additional requirement that the sub-national accounting area should nest within the national accounting area to enable aggregation.

For data sources, sub-national compilers will often lack the detailed economic statistics available at national level (such as supply-use tables or detailed industry GVA by sub-national region). Available data may include regional employment statistics, local government revenue data, fisheries landing records from local ports, and environmental monitoring from sub-national agencies. Remote sensing data (TG-4.1 Remote Sensing and Geospatial Data) and citizen science data (TG-4.4 Citizen Science) can supplement official statistics at the sub-national level.

For indicator selection, sub-national presentations should use a simplified indicator set that can be compiled with available data whilst still covering the four domains. The following table provides a recommended minimum indicator set for sub-national combined presentations.

Table 3.9.1: Simplified indicator set for sub-national combined presentations

This simplified set of twelve indicators represents the minimum viable combined presentation for a sub-national area. As data systems mature, additional indicators from the full national dashboard specification (Section 3.7) can be incorporated.

Aggregation and consistency with national accounts

Sub-national combined presentations must be designed for aggregation to the national level. This requires that sub-national accounting areas are exhaustive (every part of the national accounting area belongs to exactly one sub-national unit) and mutually exclusive (no overlaps). Classification systems used at the sub-national level must be consistent with national classifications, or concordance tables must be maintained to enable consistent aggregation. Where sub-national data are compiled independently by multiple agencies, a coordination mechanism is needed to ensure consistent boundary definitions, classification application, and temporal reference periods. The data harmonisation guidance in TG-4.6 Data Harmonisation and Interoperability provides the technical framework for this coordination.

The relationship between sub-national and national combined presentations should be documented in metadata, specifying: the nesting hierarchy of spatial units, any allocation methods used to distribute national data to sub-national areas (such as pro-rata allocation of national GVA based on employment shares), and any sub-national data that are compiled independently and aggregated upward to the national total. Where discrepancies arise between the sum of sub-national accounts and independently compiled national accounts, these should be treated as statistical discrepancies and documented transparently, following the quality assurance guidance in TG-0.7 Quality Assurance Principles.

Based on the policy question, the presentation is structured into four integrated sections:

Section A: Environmental status and trends (extent, condition, services) Section B: Economic activity and benefits (GVA, employment, income) Section C: Sustainability indicators (depletion, degradation, pressure-state relationships) Section D: Governance and management response (protected areas, expenditure)

Section A: Environmental Status and Trends

Table 2: Ecosystem Extent and Condition (2025)

Interpretation: The coastal zone experienced net loss of 9 km² of ecosystem extent during 2025, driven by conversion of mangroves and seagrass to coastal development and degradation of coral reef systems. Condition indices declined across all ecosystem types, with coral reefs showing the most significant decline (0.07 reduction in condition index). The aggregate condition index (area-weighted average) for the zone fell from 0.67 to 0.62, indicating widespread ecosystem stress.

Table 3: Physical Ecosystem Service Flows (2025)

Interpretation: Coral reefs provide the majority of fish provisioning services (1,120 of 1,850 tonnes), whilst mangroves contribute the most to carbon sequestration (1,800 of 2,560 tonnes carbon per year) and coastal protection (27 of 50 km protected, after the 15 km of coastline protected by more than one type is allocated in proportion to each type’s share so that no stretch is counted twice). Recreation services are heavily concentrated in coral reef areas (95,000 of 115,000 visitor-days).

Table 4: Fish Stock Asset Account (2025)

Interpretation: Fish stock declined by 800 tonnes (4.3%) during 2025. Actual catch (1,850 tonnes) exceeded sustainable yield (1,500 tonnes) by 350 tonnes, indicating overfishing and resource depletion. At current extraction rates, fish stocks will continue to decline unless catch is reduced.

Section B: Economic Activity and Benefits

Table 5: Ocean Economy Contribution (2025, million USD)

Interpretation: Ocean-related industries account for 58.6% of the zone’s gross value added and 56% of employment. Coastal tourism is the dominant sector (29.6% of GVA, 1,350 employees), followed by coastal construction (10.0% of GVA) and marine fishing (8.2% of GVA). The zone’s economy is heavily dependent on ocean resources and marine ecosystem health.

Table 6: Income Distribution (2025, households by location)

Interpretation: Coastal households earn 18% less than inland households on average and have higher poverty rates (22% versus 14%), despite higher dependence on ocean economy employment (64% versus 28%). This suggests that ocean economy jobs, particularly in fishing and aquaculture, provide lower incomes than inland employment, and that coastal communities are economically vulnerable to changes in marine resource availability.

Section C: Sustainability Indicators

Table 7: Integrated Sustainability Indicators (2025)

Interpretation: The zone shows clear signs of unsustainable use. Fish catch exceeds sustainable levels by 23%, leading to stock depletion that reduces the net income from fisheries by 2.8%. Ecosystem extent is declining, and condition indices are falling across all ecosystem types. Nutrient pollution from coastal development and visitor pressure on coral reefs are contributing to ecosystem stress.

Section D: Governance and Management Response

Table 8: Governance and Management Indicators (2025)

Interpretation: Marine protected area coverage (15%) falls short of the national target (25%), with 120 km² additional area requiring designation to meet the target. Government expenditure on coastal management (USD 2.4 million, or USD 2,000 per km²) may be insufficient given the level of ecosystem stress observed. Enforcement capacity (120 patrol days) is below the planned level (180 days), suggesting monitoring and compliance challenges.

Section E: Balance Sheet and Adjusted Aggregates

The four sections above present accounts side by side. This one brings them onto a single line. Two presentations do that: the ocean balance sheet, which states what the zone owns at a point in time, and the adjusted aggregates derivation, which states what it earned after the cost of running its natural capital down.

The ocean balance sheet. Assembled from the closing stocks of the asset accounts, produced and non-produced together. It is the presentation TG-3.1 Section 3.2 Step 6 names as the integration point for asset accounts, and the only one in which produced and environmental capital appear on comparable terms.

Adjusted aggregates. Gross value added measures production without charging for the natural capital consumed in producing it. The adjustment deducts consumption of fixed capital, as the SNA already does for produced assets, and then deducts depletion and degradation, which the SNA does not. The 2025 SNA treats depletion of natural resources as a cost of production analogous to depreciation, so the deduction is not an alternative accounting — it is the completion of the existing one.

All three deductions must be at constant prices. Holding gains are not income. TG-3.1 Section 3.7 shows an ecosystem account closing above its opening value in a year when extent, condition and biomass all fell, purely on revaluation; an adjusted aggregate that netted revaluation into the deduction would inherit that error.

Table 10: Adjusted ocean aggregates — derivation

Table 10: Derivation of environmentally adjusted net ocean value added for the Northshore Coastal Zone, 2025. Every line traces to an account compiled above or to the produced asset account in TG-3.1 Section 3.6.

Reading the derivation. The zone’s ocean economy reports USD 89.5 million of gross value added. USD 7.2 million of that is the using-up of vessels, ponds and port structures, and a further USD 3.2 million is the using-up of fish stocks and ecosystem condition. Net of both, the zone earned USD 79.1 million — 11.6 per cent less than the headline, and 3.6 per cent less than a conventional net measure that stops at produced capital.

The memorandum line is the one to watch over a run of years. USD 4.1 million of holding gains sat in the asset accounts this period, more than the entire natural capital deduction. A presentation that reported change in net worth without separating that line would show the zone’s ocean wealth broadly flat while its fish stocks fell 4.3 per cent, its reefs lost 5 km² and every condition index declined.

A caution on completeness. This derivation charges only for what has been measured. Degradation here covers the ecosystem types with condition accounts; services without a defensible valuation contribute nothing to the deduction, which biases the adjusted figure upwards. State what the deduction covers whenever the number is published, or it will be read as comprehensive.

Step 3: Integration and policy implications

The tables above together show declining condition alongside rising GVA; the gap between sustainable yield and actual harvest signals resource depletion; and distributional data reveal that coastal households bear a disproportionate share of ecosystem stress. Together these warrant the policy adjustments described in the scenario narrative.

3.11 Condition-to-Services Data-Flow Integration

Combined presentations that span condition and services require a structured linkage from condition account outputs to ecosystem service account inputs. The three-step pattern (inventory condition outputs, map them to service inputs, then assemble an integrated extent-condition-service table) operationalises the SEEA EA articulation of these accounts as a connected sequence. Compilers should apply the service-specific methods and indicator guidance in Section 3.2 and the linked TG-2.x circulars when selecting indicators and conversion factors.

Combined presentations integrate data from multiple account types to support analysis and decision-making for ocean governance. Key principles include:

1. Consistency: Combined presentations draw on underlying accounts compiled using consistent geographical boundaries, entity definitions, and classifications.

2. Complementarity: Physical, monetary, social, and governance data provide complementary perspectives that together support fuller analysis.

3. Policy orientation: Effective combined presentations are organised around policy questions, not accounting structures, with visualisations designed for decision-making audiences.

4. Transparency: Methods, data sources, and limitations should be clearly documented to support informed interpretation.

Combined presentations are the analytical endpoint of the ocean accounts framework, enabling the derivation of integrated indicators and supporting the mainstreaming of ocean sustainability into national policy and decision-making.