Natural Resource Accounting: Toward a balance sheet for the Nation
It has long been recognized that the Nation’s economic accounts do not reflect our true wealth, due to the omission of natural resources from the Federal balance sheet. For example, U.S. economic accounts do not account for the 2.3 billion acres of land on which we grow food, build and maintain infrastructure, produce energy and minerals, and recreate. Also excluded are water resources used for irrigation, energy production, mining, recreation, and domestic and industrial supply. The USGS has long assessed and inventoried the nation’s natural resources, drawing on scientific expertise and products from all of its mission areas and regions.
Building on over 70 years of U.S. leadership in developing economic statistics, the USGS and other Federal agencies are in the early stages of a 15-year process to build objective, relevant, and accurate natural resource accounts, seeking parity with the more than 90 other countries that already do such accounting. Fully incorporating the nation’s resources on America’s balance sheet enables the Federal government, industry, and the public to clearly understand and better appreciate how natural resources underpin our economic prosperity.
Data and model repositories
The data and models generated as part of this project are available in multiple formats accessible to both technical and nontechnical users, as described in the “Data” tab and in relevant publications.
Collaboration
This project has been supported by the U.S. Geological Survey’s John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis and National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). The project spans collaborations across the multiple U.S. government agencies, as well as collaborators from universities, the private sector, and international organizations.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Data release for Piloting Urban Ecosystem Accounting for the United States
Data release for Accounting for Land in the United States: Integrating Physical Land Cover, Land Use, and Monetary Valuation
Data release for Integrating physical and economic data into experimental water accounts for the United States: lessons and opportunities
Data Release for Testing ecosystem accounting in the United States: A case study for the Southeast
Below are publications associated with this project.
Lessons learned from development of natural capital accounts in the United States and European Union
Piloting urban ecosystem accounting for the United States
Accounting for land in the United States: Integrating physical land cover, land use, and monetary valuation
Integrating physical and economic data into experimental water accounts for the United States: Lessons and opportunities
Testing ecosystem accounting in the United States: A case study for the Southeast
The natural capital accounting opportunity: Let's really do the numbers
It has long been recognized that the Nation’s economic accounts do not reflect our true wealth, due to the omission of natural resources from the Federal balance sheet. For example, U.S. economic accounts do not account for the 2.3 billion acres of land on which we grow food, build and maintain infrastructure, produce energy and minerals, and recreate. Also excluded are water resources used for irrigation, energy production, mining, recreation, and domestic and industrial supply. The USGS has long assessed and inventoried the nation’s natural resources, drawing on scientific expertise and products from all of its mission areas and regions.
Building on over 70 years of U.S. leadership in developing economic statistics, the USGS and other Federal agencies are in the early stages of a 15-year process to build objective, relevant, and accurate natural resource accounts, seeking parity with the more than 90 other countries that already do such accounting. Fully incorporating the nation’s resources on America’s balance sheet enables the Federal government, industry, and the public to clearly understand and better appreciate how natural resources underpin our economic prosperity.
Data and model repositories
The data and models generated as part of this project are available in multiple formats accessible to both technical and nontechnical users, as described in the “Data” tab and in relevant publications.
Collaboration
This project has been supported by the U.S. Geological Survey’s John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis and National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). The project spans collaborations across the multiple U.S. government agencies, as well as collaborators from universities, the private sector, and international organizations.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Data release for Piloting Urban Ecosystem Accounting for the United States
Data release for Accounting for Land in the United States: Integrating Physical Land Cover, Land Use, and Monetary Valuation
Data release for Integrating physical and economic data into experimental water accounts for the United States: lessons and opportunities
Data Release for Testing ecosystem accounting in the United States: A case study for the Southeast
Below are publications associated with this project.