Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

The growing concerns over ecosystem degradation and its unsustainable use increased over time, which eventually led to the prioritization of ecosystem management in international agreements and the recognition of the need for socio-environmental accounting and ecosystem accounting innovations. But the ecological issues remain, not due to technical limitations, but rather, because the articulation between these accounting systems, or typology of ecosystem accounts, is not cohesive enough to motivate and guide ecosystem management. This research study aims to advance the interdependencies and necessary flows among ecosystem accounting innovations by contributing to a cohesive articulation between two models, established respectively at the corporate/organizational perimeter and on perim[...]

The growing concerns over ecosystem degradation and its unsustainable use increased over time, which eventually led to the prioritization of ecosystem management in international agreements and the recognition of the need for socio-environmental accounting and ecosystem accounting innovations. But the ecological issues remain, not due to technical limitations, but rather, because the articulation between these accounting systems, or typology of ecosystem accounts, is not cohesive enough to motivate and guide ecosystem management. This research study aims to advance the interdependencies and necessary flows among ecosystem accounting innovations by contributing to a cohesive articulation between two models, established respectively at the corporate/organizational perimeter and on perimeters relevant for collective ecosystem management: CARE-TDL (for business accounting) and AfME (for ecosystem-centric management accounting). Using qualitative research methods for data collection and analysis (document analysis, workshop, and case study), we were able to elaborate on a theoretical case study and articulate their CARE-TDL and AfME accounts. We concluded that the application of CARE-TDL and AfME models could be synthesized into four steps (in any order) with corresponding general questions in navigating their way to ecosystem management and its accounting. Each general question opens the issue towards several articulation points. The articulation points, in turn, raise questions for future ecological accounting and conservation science research. By determining and addressing one articulation point at a time, we are a step closer to better equipping, structuring, and operationalizing the assumption of public and private responsibility for biodiversity and ecosystems.