By implementing a unified ocean accounting framework whereby aquaculture yields, mangrove extent, port infrastructure economic inflows will be recorded, Sri Lanka would be able to introduce credible ocean statistics alongside its GDP and other economic metrics, IUCN Sri Lanka Country Representative Dr Shamen Vidanage said, speaking on a webinar recently.
“By recording both ocean stocks, such as fish stocks, mangrove extent and port infrastructure and economic flows, ocean accounting allows us to present defensible ocean statistics right alongside national GDP and official economic metrics,”Dr Vidanage said, speaking on a webinar co-hosted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Centre for Sustainable Development Reform, the Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (SLAFA), IUCN Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAS), and the Sri Lanka Agricultural Economics Association (SLAEA).
Dr Vidanage noted that the challenge to establishing this system is within the disconnect of data collection, rather than a dearth of data.
“Our primary barrier to answering these questions is not lack of data but data fragmentation. Crucial information regarding fish catch, coastal land use, ecosystem health, tourism receipts and public expenditure sits across separate institutions compiled under different classifications and time frames. As a result, ocean activity is rarely measured as a cohesive national economy,” Dr Vidanage said.
Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) Secretariat Director Ben Milligan also noted that though Sri Lanka’s development is significantly tied with its oceans, it is yet to cohesively build analytical capabilities to understand its dependance; thereby emphasising the need for considering it a critical national asset.
“The dependencies of Sri Lankan livelihoods and economic activity on the ocean and the ecosystems therein... are very high. Typical economic development planning in all countries has not yet developed the analytical capability to richly track those dependencies. Whenever those dependencies are studied in isolated projects, they reveal quite a compelling picture about the degree to which the ocean environment is a critical national asset. It’s a critical source of national wealth.”
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s Sustainable Finance Road Map 2.0 targets mobilising $ 10.85 billion by 2030 to support national climate targets, where in its green finance taxonomy classifies coastal and marine ecosystem management among eligible investment categories.
Sri Lanka’s National Climate Finance Strategy for 2025 – 2030 also outlines the importance of environmental accounting and prioritises fisheries alongside renewable energy and resilient infrastructure.
Milligan pointed to Indonesia as a case study for Sri Lanka, wherein he noted that the archipelago nation was able to leverage a pilot project on accounting the economic benefits of marine protected areas five years ago, into creating a fully fledged national framework. Crucially, he stated that this system has been linked to international development finance.
“Indonesia went from a small pilot on ocean accounting focused on economic benefits of marine protected areas back in 2021–2022 to what is now an operational national system that has direct linkages into international development finance,” he said.
“The ability to tell a story about the development benefits of nature in empirical terms in a language of finance has been very powerful,” Milligan noted.