Natural Capital Accounting Regional Workshop for the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region | Wealth Accounting and the <span>Valuation of Ecosystem Services

Natural Capital Accounting Regional Workshop for the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region

March 9-11, 2015, Pera Palace Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

Organized by The World Bank and Turkish Ministry of Development

With cooperation from Statistics Netherlands, the U.N. Economic Commission of Europe, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

(Press Release: Natural Capital Accounting – a Critical Tool in Ensuring Sustainable Economic Growth)

This video from the conference captures the event and highlights the voices of many participants.

Background: The World Bank launched the Global Partnership for Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) in 2010, providing technical support to developing countries to implement Natural Capital Accounting (NCA). In 2012, in advance of the Rio+20 summit, the World Bank took the initiative to reach out globally through the 50:50 campaign inciting the public and private sectors to join forces, taking collective action in support of NCA. Since the launch of the campaign, the response has been overwhelming: 70 countries, 90 corprations, and 17 civil society members supported the campaign. Turkey recently joined WAVES as a participating country member.

Objective: NCA is an important tool to inform policy decision making and foster transitions towards inclusive and green growth models. To construct accounts, countries need training materials, guidance, and the ability to share ideas and information. The ECA regional workshop is designed to respond to the growing interest in the region and surrounding areas on NCA.

The specific objectives of the workshop are to provide:

An overview of the WAVES partnership
An overview of the methodology for NCA using the UN’s System of Environmental and Economic Accounting- Central Framework (SEEA-CF)
Examples of selected accounts modules that have been identified in ECA such as water and forest accounts
Examples of how NCA has been used for policy in other countries
Discussions of data, staffing, and institutional requirements for NCA

The first day will provide an overview of the SEEA-CF, WAVES, and NCA. The goal is to engage participants and encourage thinking on policy questions that NCA can help to inform in the region. Day 2 will focus on forest and water accounts. Day 3 will discuss the data and institutional requirements to ensure that NCA is institutionalized in countries. The workshop will close with a discussion of next steps for the ECA region surrounding NCA.

Workshop participants: Participants from six to eight ECA countries (and perhaps a few from North African countries) will be sponsored by WAVES, plus 10 resource persons and observers from EU member states and/or international organizations will join. Targeted participants are policy makers and staff from government institutions that are 1) users of data for development planning and policy making (e.g. development planning ministries, environment and natural resource ministries or other key line ministries) and 2) data providers (e.g. national statistical institutions). The workshop will provide opportunities for discussion, presentations, and hands-on training. The workshop will be conducted in English and Russian; translation will be available. Workshop participant directory and list of participants by country.

Contributors/Trainers

The trainers and contributors will have representatives with experience on NCA methodologies. Technical experts will provide guidance and training on water and forest accounts. In addition, participating experts will have experience in ecosystem valuation, policy development, and development planning.

Workshop Agenda in Russian (Программа семинара)

Workshop Agenda

* Presentations are available by clicking on the underlined agenda items. Note that some sessions did not use powerpoint presentations.

March 9th, Monday WAVES and NCA Overview
8:30-9:00am	Registration and sign in (Outside the meeting room Grand Pera in Pera Palace Hotel)
9:30-9:45am	Group introduction and workshop agenda Workshop facilitator: Mr. Robert Shannon Stearman, WAVES, the World Bank
9:00-9:30am	Welcome and Opening Speeches Chair: Ms. Kulsum Ahmed, Practice Manager, Environment and Natural Resource Global Practice, ECA region, the World Bank Ms. Sema Bayazit, Director of Environment and Sustainable Development, Turkish Ministry of Development Mr. Martin Raiser, World Bank Country Director for Turkey Mr. Mehmet Aktas, Vice President of Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat)
9:45-10:40 am	Overview of Natural Capital Accounts (NCA) and their applications Moderator: Mr. Stig Johansson, Global Outreach Coordinator, WAVES, the World Bank Introduction to NCA and the WAVES Global Partnership (25 min) By Mr. Stig Johansson, Global Outreach Coordinator, WAVES Panel Discussion (max 10 min for each panelist) Mr. George Bouma, UNDP; Mr. Michael Nagy, UNECE; Professor Erinc Yeldan, Dept of Economics, Bilkent University, Turkey
10:40-11:00 am	Group Photo and Coffee Break
11:00-11:45 am	High-level panel on the need for NCA approach in participating countries Moderator: Ms. Kulsum Ahmed, Practice Manager, Environment and Natural Resource Global Practice, ECA region, the World Bank Panelists (5-10 min for each panelist): Ms. Sema Bayazit (Director of Environment and Sustainable Development, Turkish Ministry of Development); Mr. Teimuraz Murgulia, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, Georgia; Mr. Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Tajikistan; Mr. Fadil Fatic, Deputy Director, Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
11:45-12:30 pm	SEEA-Central Framework: Overview and Methodology By Mr. Roel Delahaye, Statistics Netherlands
12:30-2:00 pm	Lunch
2:00-3:30 pm	Presentations on country policy applications (forest and water focus) Moderator: Mr. Stephen Karam, the World Bank Global overview by Juan Pablo Castaneda, WAVES Case of the Netherlands by Mr. Roel Delahaye of Statistics Netherlands Broad International case studies by Mr. Michael Nagy of UNECE Q&A and Discussion
3:30-3:45 pm	Coffee Break
3:45-4:45 pm	Three breakout sessions to review the status of environment and natural resource accountings and discuss NCA-related policy questions in participating countries Facilitators: Ms. Esra Arikan, Mr. Robert Stearman, and Mr. Stig Johannsson Group discussions (30 min) (The participants will be roughly divided into the following three groups: Turkish participants in Group One, Russian-speaking participants from Central Asian countries in Group Two, and participants from the rest in Group Three. Each breakout session will designate a member to summarize the discussion and report back in next session) Breakout session summary (5 min for each group) Q&A and discussion
4:45-5:00 pm	Closing of the day By Mr. Stig Johansson, WAVES

March 10 Tuesday Focus on Forest and Water Accounts
9:00-9:15 am	Opening By Mr. Stig Johansson, WAVES, the World Bank
9:15-10:30 am	Water Accounts Moderator: Mr. George Bouma, UNDP Water accounts overview: physical accounts (30 min) by Mr. Michael Nagy, UNECE Water statistics and introduction to water accounts in Turkey (30 min) by Ms. Gulsevil Bahceli, Environmental Engineer, TurkStat Q&A and discussion (15 min)
10:30-11:00 am	Coffee Break
11:00-12:30 pm	Overview of valuation methods (15 min) By Jian Xie, the World Bank Water accounting overview: Main tables and monetary accounts (30 min) By Mr. Michael Nagy, UNECE Water Framework Directive and Natural Resources Assessment Approach within the scope of River Basin Management Plans in Turkey (30 min) by Mr. Ahmet Vehbi Muslu, Asst. Expert, General Directorate of Water Management, Turkey Q&A and discussion (15 min)
12:30-2:00 pm	Lunch
2:00-3:30 pm	Forest Accounts Moderator: Ms. Esra Arikan, the World Bank Overview of forestry valuation and accounting (30 min) By Mr. Juan-Pablo Castaneda, the World Bank Forestry Policies and Practices in Turkey (15 min) By Mr. Başar Bakır, Section Head, DG Forestry, Turkey Studies on Ecosystem Services in Turkey (15 min) By Mr. Adem Bilgin, Section Head, DG National Parks and Nature Conservation, Turkey Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services Study in Turkey (15 min) By Ms. Bahar Erbas, Associate Professor, TOBB University of Economics and Technology and consultant to the World Bank Q&A and discussion (15 min)
3:30-3:45 pm	Coffee Break
3:45-4:45 pm	Panel and discussion: Forest and water issues in ECA and opportunities to use NCA as a tool to address issues Moderator: Mr. Taylan Kiymaz, Director, Department of Agriculture and Forest, MoD Panelists: Mr. Mustafa Bulut, Water Expert, Ministry of Development, Turkey Mr. Dumitru Galupa, Director, Forest Research and Management Institute, Moldova (in Russian, Русский) Ms. Natalya Zharkina, Head of Department for Environmental Management and Innovative Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Belarus (in Russian, Русский) Ms. Kanykey Orozbaeva, Director, Environmental Department, Statistical Committee, Kyrgyzstan
4:45-5:00pm	Closing of the day By Mr. Stig Johansson, WAVES, the World Bank

March 11 Wednesday Data, Institutional Requirements, and Next Steps
9:00-9:30 am	Opening and overview of previous days By Ms. Esra Arikan, the World Bank
9:30-10:45 am	Panel discussion of institutional requirements and data challenges Moderator: Mr. Stig Johansson, WAVES Panelists: Mr. Juan-Pablo Castaneda, the World Bank Mr. Michael Nagy, UN Economic Commission for Europe Mr. Roel Delahaye, Statistics Netherlands Ms. İpek Turtin Uzer, Expert, TurkStat
10:45-11:00 am	Coffee Break
11:00-12:00 pm	Discussion on next steps and how to follow up Facilitators: Mr. Jian Xie and Ms. Esra Arikan, the World Bank
12:00-12:15 pm	Thank you and Closing of the Workshop Mr. Jian Xie, the World Bank Mr. Sebahattin Sari, Director, Environment, Energy and Transport Statistics Department, Turkish Statistical Institute
12:15-1:30 pm	Lunch

* Note: Simultaneous English-Russian translation will be provided during the event.