Ecosystem accounting and the need to recognise Indigenous perspectives

Ecosystem accounting has been advocated as a potential ‘game changer’ for managing the environment and economy was recently standardised by United Nations (UN) in System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA-EA). However, Indigenous Peoples, their lands, values, knowledge have not explicitly included SEEA-EA. With more than 40% global land under some form management or tenure, this omission must be addressed if Peoples are to use SEEA-EA; values aspirations reflected broader environmental economic policy. We outline how perspectives differ from those currently recognised A key difference is that view themselves part ecosystems rather distinct them, relationship two-way, one-way, presented Reconciling these possible but will require collaborative engagement with guided principles free, prior, informed consent. To achieve reconciliation, we call two actions: (1) including recognition new item on SEEA-EA research agenda, and; (2) UN processes governing development