Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/42741

Environmental deterioration has expanded from local environmental pollution to global environmental disruption with economic modern industrialization and globalization. We have to break the link between economic activity and environmental deterioration, and have to preserve the ecosystem. The purpose of this thesis is to consider a framework of macro environmental accounting that can provide an environmental indicator by which the sustainability of economic society can be evaluated appropriately. Environmental accounting is applied as a tool for analyzing the correlation between economical activities and their environmental impacts. The theoretical framework is classified roughly into two basic accounting approaches. One is a macro environmental accounting based on SNA, which is accounting at a national level. The other is a form of micro environmental accounting based on corporate accounts. The former describes productive activities and consumption activities comprehensively, and the latter places emphasis on productive activities. Up to the present, indicators of economic growth have been measures of total value-added, such as GDP. However, conventional indicators regard activities which have negative impacts on environments and human welfare as positive contributions to growth. Attempts were made to construct indicators which deduct from the measure of growth that portion of value-added that results in declines in human welfare. This is the so-called study of Green GDP. However, it is doubtful whether Green GDP is a comprehensive indicator that takes environmental preservation into account. It is because Green GDP is shown as monetary information. Environment is not evaluated in a market. For this reason, when economic growth is larger than the reduction of environmental impacts, an indicator has the problem that a upgrowth is shown. So, the theoretical framework of macro environmental accounting is applied to a regional economies, agriculture and forestry, and this thesis aims to construct an indicator which evaluates sustainability, and to construct a theoretical framework for macro environmental accounting. Chapter I describes the background of this thesis, its purpose and states an analytic problem. In Chapter II, environmental accounting is defined as a process that is communicated to stakeholders with the correlation between the economy and the environment, which is quantitatively measured as a physical and/or monetary term. And, the purpose of environmental accounting is to provide a correlation between the economy and the environment so as to improve the environmental preservation function of the accounting unit and its stakeholders. Moreover, methods of environmental accounting are categorized based on their accounting unit and their environment information. In addition, two theoretical frameworks of macro environmental accounting are described; one is the System for integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (shortened to SEEA), and the other is a hybrid environmental accounting, which integrates monetary accounts and the physical accounts. In Chapter III, three macro environmental accountings which applied the SEEA framework were estimated. One is a macro environmental accounting for the economy of Hokkaido Prefecture. The second is a waste account for the waste-treatment activities in Hokkaido Prefecture. The third is a macro environmental accounting for agriculture and forestry throughout Japan. As a result, it became clear that the cost effectiveness of environmental activity in Hokkaido is lower than the national average. This suggests that reduction of environmental impacts is not performed at suitable costs. And, it became clear that countermeasures against local environmental problems such as air pollution and water pollution, improves with the eco-efficiency indicators and the decoupling indicators. However, it became clear that the countermeasures against global environmental problems are lagging and that the environmental impact of consumption activities is large. Moreover, the waste-treatment activities in Hokkaido to improve the performance of reuse and recycling of waste products, and realize a reduction in the amount of final disposals was shown as an estimation result of the waste account of Hokkaido. However, because emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gases resulting from waste-treatment activities were increasing, it became clear that eco-efficiency is falling. From these results, it was shown that it is insufficient to decouple growth of the economy from environmental impacts. Next, it became clear from the estimation result of an agricultural waste account that reduction of water pollution is realized by appropriate disposal and circulation of livestock feces and urine. However, emission of greenhouse gases by disposal and recycle activities increased, and it became clear that the environmental problem has been shifted. In Chapter IV, it became clear from the estimation result of the agriculture and forestry SEEA which extended the production boundary of SNA and evaluated the environmental benefit of agriculture and forestry that agriculture and forestry offset their environmental impact by the environmental benefit, returned the excessive benefit to society, and the external economy effect has occurred. Where, it is necessary to improve about air pollution. As mentioned above, it became clear that the environmental benefit to society can be increased by reducing the environmental impacts of the productive activity of agriculture and forestry. In Chapter V, the ecological footprint (shortened to EF), based on the concept of ecological economics was introduced into the macro environmental accounting as an indicator. EF recognizes an environmental physical limitation, is understanding the physical use state of the environment by an economic activity, and can evaluate the strong sustainability. And it became clear from the estimation result of the hybrid environmental accounting which introduced the physical account and EF for Hokkaido prefecture that the Hokkaido economy is in an ecological deficit to an environmental carrying capacity. However, because EF was decreasing, it was also shown that the Hokkaido economy is progressing in the sustainable way. Moreover, in Hokkaido, the improvement of eco-efficiency is found on local environmental aspects, such as air pollution and water pollution. However, in emission of greenhouse gas, and energy consumption and a land use, it was shown that eco-efficiency is low and the decoupling has not been realized. On the other hand, from the estimation result of the hybrid environmental accounting for the agriculture and forestry of Hokkaido, it was determined that it was possible to decrease EF of a local society by the environmental benefit of agriculture and forestry. However, it became clear with decoupling indicators that productive activities of agriculture and forestry need the improvement of eco-efficiency. From the result of the above empirical study, it is desirable to apply EF as a comprehensive environmental indicator to clarify the sustainability of economic activities. And it became clear that eco-efficiency indicators and decoupling indicators are useful as indicators which drive the sustainability of economic activities. On the other hand, the Green GDP based on environmental monetary valuations is useful as environmental-costs indicators, such as environmental expenditures. And, the hybrid framework which introduced the physical-environment account which clarifies the use state of the environment by the economy for environmental carrying capacity as a framework of a macro environmental accounting is useful. That is, environmental-improvement indicators and sustainability indicators can be derived by introducing EF into the framework of the hybrid environmental accounting which integrated a monetary account and physical environmental accounts. Therefore, it was identified that the information about the environmental pressure for environmental carrying capacity and the information about the performance of economic activities can be provided using these easy indicators. And the framework of a macro environmental accounting can be improved by introducing a material flow account. This improvement enables finding of a shift of environmental problems, and evaluation of the eco-efficiency of resource circulation activities.