Report on the Role of Ocean Accounts in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: A Data-Driven Approach to Ocean Sustainability

The year 2025 represents a critical juncture for global ocean action, underscored by international agreements such as the Nice Ocean Action Plan from the UN Ocean Conference. These initiatives aim to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14: Life Below Water), which calls for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources. Achieving this and other related SDGs requires a robust, integrated data framework to inform policy, measure progress, and ensure the health of marine ecosystems. Ocean accounts have emerged as an essential tool to meet this need, providing a comprehensive structure for integrating environmental, economic, and social data related to the ocean.

The Ocean Accounts Framework: Integrating Data for the SDGs

Ocean accounts are comprehensive statistical frameworks designed to organize data on the ocean’s environmental assets, economic contributions, and social dependencies. Modeled on established international standards like the System of National Accounts (SNA) and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), they offer a standardized methodology for ocean-specific reporting. This integrated approach moves beyond traditional economic indicators like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which fail to capture the full value of ocean ecosystems and their contribution to human well-being. By providing a holistic view, ocean accounts enable governments to formulate effective policies that support a sustainable blue economy and advance multiple SDGs.

Core Components and Linkages to Sustainable Development Goals

The ocean accounts framework integrates information across several key components, each directly supporting the monitoring and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:

• Ocean Assets (Natural Capital): This component inventories the physical state and value of marine resources like fish stocks, coral reefs, and mangroves. This data is fundamental for tracking progress on SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), as it measures the health of ecosystems that act as vital carbon sinks.
• Flows to the Economy (Ocean Services): This records the goods and services the ocean provides, including fisheries, energy, and tourism. It directly informs SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 1 (No Poverty), and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by quantifying the ocean’s role in supporting livelihoods and food security.
• Flows to the Environment (Impacts): This tracks the inputs of pollutants, waste, and emissions into the marine environment from human activities. This is crucial for managing pressures on ocean health and achieving targets under SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 14.
• Ocean Economy: This component measures the economic activities, employment, and income generated by ocean-related sectors. It provides key metrics for assessing the sustainability of economic growth as targeted by SDG 8.
• Ecosystem Accounts: This focuses on the extent, condition, and services of specific marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs, seagrass beds). It provides the detailed ecological information needed to protect biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, supporting SDG 14 and SDG 15 (Life on Land) through coastal ecosystem management.
• Social and Governance Factors: This includes data on communities dependent on the ocean and the governance structures in place for its management. This information is vital for ensuring equitable benefit-sharing and effective institutions, aligning with SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Global Implementation and Progress

International Coordination through Partnerships

The implementation of ocean accounts is being coordinated globally by the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP), established in 2019. GOAP exemplifies SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by bringing together governments, international organizations, and research institutions to develop technical guidance and build capacity worldwide. The “Technical Guidance on Ocean Accounting for Sustainable Development” provides a standardized methodology, enabling countries to produce consistent and comparable data for global sustainability reporting.

National Adoption and Current Status

According to a 2025 GOAP progress report, approximately 50 countries are engaged in developing ocean accounts. This demonstrates a growing global commitment to evidence-based ocean governance. Progress varies by nation:

1. Advanced Implementation: Nations such as Australia, Canada, and Norway have established advanced ocean accounting programs that are actively informing their sustainable blue economy strategies.
2. Active Piloting and Development: A significant number of developing nations across Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America are piloting ocean accounts. Countries including Indonesia, Maldives, Costa Rica, and Kenya are in this phase.
3. Transition to Formal Frameworks: Other nations, such as India, are moving from conceptual work to formal implementation, supported by international collaboration through GOAP.

Challenges and Strategic Recommendations for Advancing SDGs

Key Challenges to Implementation

Despite progress, several challenges hinder the widespread adoption and effectiveness of ocean accounts, thereby impacting the ability of nations to track and achieve the SDGs.

• Valuation of Intangible Services: Assigning economic or physical values to cultural and regulating ecosystem services remains complex, potentially leading to an undervaluation of the ocean’s full contribution to human well-being.
• Capacity and Resource Constraints: Many developing nations lack the technical capacity, institutional frameworks, and financial resources required to compile and maintain comprehensive ocean accounts. This gap can exacerbate inequalities in achieving the SDGs, as noted in SDG 10.
• Data Availability and Quality: Inconsistent data quality and accessibility across different sources and regions complicate the compilation of reliable and comparable accounts, which is essential for global SDG monitoring.

Recommendations for the Way Forward

To overcome these challenges and leverage ocean accounts for the 2030 Agenda, a coordinated strategy is required:

• Enhance Global Collaboration: Strengthening partnerships between governments, academia, the private sector, and international bodies is crucial for mobilizing resources and expertise, directly supporting SDG 17.
• Integrate with National Priorities: To ensure political support and practical application, ocean accounts must be explicitly linked to national development plans, climate commitments (Nationally Determined Contributions), and official SDG reporting mechanisms.

By continuing to build capacity and foster collaboration, the global community can harness ocean accounts as a fundamental tool for sustainable ocean governance. This data-driven approach is essential to ensuring the ocean can continue to support biodiversity, livelihoods, and planetary health for future generations, in line with the ambitious vision of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 14: Life Below Water

   This is the most central SDG discussed in the article. It is explicitly mentioned in the second paragraph: “…in support of SDG 14 – Life Below Water.” The entire article focuses on the development and implementation of “ocean accounts” as a tool to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources,” which is the core objective of SDG 14. The text discusses measuring marine health, managing ecosystems like coral reefs and mangroves, and ensuring the sustainable use of marine resources.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   The article implicitly addresses SDG 8 by focusing on the “sustainable blue economy.” It details how ocean accounts track the “ocean economy,” which includes “economic activities linked to the ocean, such as fisheries, tourism, shipping, and related jobs and income.” By providing a framework to measure and manage these economic activities sustainably, the article connects to the goal of promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all, particularly in coastal communities that depend on the ocean for their “livelihoods.”

3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   This goal is strongly represented through the article’s emphasis on international cooperation and data. The text highlights the “Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP)” as a “collaborative initiative to coordinate international efforts.” It discusses the need for collaboration “among governments, international organizations, academia, and the private sector” to build technical capacity, especially in developing nations. Furthermore, the article’s focus on creating a standardized framework (“Technical Guidance on Ocean Accounting”) for “consistent, comparable, and integrated data” and moving “beyond traditional metrics” like GDP directly supports the targets within SDG 17 related to data, monitoring, and accountability.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 14: Life Below Water

  • Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds. The article states that ocean accounts track “Flows to the environment (impacts/residuals),” which includes “what is released into the ocean from human activities, such as pollution, waste, and emissions.”
  • Target 14.2: By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems. The article directly supports this by describing how ocean accounts measure “ocean assets (natural capital),” including “the physical state, condition, and value of marine and coastal resources such as fish, coral reefs, mangroves.” It also mentions specific “Ecosystem accounts” for “coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass.”
  • Target 14.4: By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing. This is addressed through the tracking of “Flows to the economy (ocean services),” which records “what the ocean provides to people and the economy, like fish… This includes how much is taken from the ocean and its value.” This data is crucial for regulating fisheries.
  • Target 14.7: By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island Developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources. The article mentions that developing nations like “Indonesia, Maldives, Costa Rica and Kenya, are actively piloting” ocean accounts to better manage their “ocean economy” and “blue economy strategies.”
  • Target 14.a: Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology. The entire concept of ocean accounts is a tool to increase knowledge. The article highlights the “Technical Guidance on Ocean Accounting for Sustainable Development” and the work of GOAP to “support countries in implementing ocean accounts,” directly addressing the need for research capacity and a structured approach to data.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  • Target 8.9: By 2030, devise and implement policies that promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs. The article identifies “tourism” as a key component of the “ocean economy” and notes that ocean accounts track “related jobs and income” as well as “coastal employment,” providing the data needed to develop policies for sustainable tourism.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships. The article describes the “Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP)” as a “collaborative initiative” and calls for “Expanding collaboration among governments, international organizations, academia, and the private sector” to achieve sustainable ocean governance.
  • Target 17.18: By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries… to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data. The article points out that “developing and low-resource nations face challenges in technical capacity, institutional readiness, and funding” and that GOAP’s work is to “support countries in implementing ocean accounts” to produce “consistent, comparable, and integrated data.”
  • Target 17.19: By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product. The article explicitly states that ocean accounts are essential to “move beyond traditional metrics of measuring economic progress such as the Gross Domestic Product – or GDP” because such metrics “do not provide a comprehensive view of environmental health.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article mentions and implies several indicators through its description of what ocean accounts measure:

• For Target 14.1: The amount and type of “pollution, waste, and emissions” released into the ocean from human activities.
• For Target 14.2: Data on the “extent, health, and services of different ocean ecosystems, such as coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass.” This includes the “physical state, condition, and value of marine and coastal resources.”
• For Target 14.4: Data on “how much is taken from the ocean,” specifically regarding fish stocks, and the economic value of “fisheries sales.”
• For Target 14.7: Measurement of the value of the “ocean economy,” including economic activities like “fisheries, tourism, shipping.”
• For Target 14.a: The number of countries implementing ocean accounts. The article provides a specific data point: “Approximately 50 countries worldwide are undertaking some form of ocean accounting.”
• For Target 8.9: Data on “coastal employment” and the number of “jobs and income” related to ocean tourism.
• For Target 17.16: The existence and progress of multi-stakeholder partnerships, such as the “Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP).”
• For Target 17.18: The number of developing countries that are “actively piloting” or have implemented ocean accounts, such as “Indonesia, Maldives, Costa Rica and Kenya.”
• For Target 17.19: The formal adoption and implementation of “ocean accounts” into a country’s “existing national accounts” as a complementary measure to GDP.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: earth.org