Environmental accounting

Since 2015, ONF International has been working on the subject of environmental accounting and the application to concrete projects of a methodology called ENCA (Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounts) or CECN (Comptabilité Ecosystémique du Capital Naturel), in close collaboration with Jean-Louis WEBER and Didier BABIN, two specialists who developed and promoted it.

ENCA is first and foremost an operational methodology that involves highlighting weaknesses in environmental resources (biodiversity/ecosystem infrastructure, water, carbon/biomass). The degradation of all or part of an ecosystem can be highlighted and monitored over time using key indicators. The methodology involves the use of over 400 cross-cutting indicators. Most of the time, these indicators are based on the catchment area as a unit, and cover an area ranging from a given territory to an entire state.

There is an infinite number of possible applications, and the comprehensive tool can be customised to target specific issues.

The spatialised approach makes it easier for the client to interpret the results and make decisions.

The deployment of ENCA methodology, which can be supported by ONF International, can be used to guide public policies on regional planning or the development of sustainable carbon projects, for example. Ultimately, the aim is to raise awareness and refine local strategies for preserving natural areas, forests and natural parks.

It should be noted that the involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of environmental accounting increases the relevance of these studies by providing greater robustness in methodological adjustments.

For the ECOSEO project (Observatory of Ecosystem Services on the Guyana area), in which ONF International is involved, all the indices in the methodology have been used over a wide area.

Link to the ECOSEO project sheet

Below is an extraction from the ECOSEO open-access platform: