Issues in Constructing Resource and Water Use Balance Tables

In this article on the example of the Republic of Belarus are presented questions related to information and methodological support for construction of balance tables for water resources and  using water resources as an important tool in socio-economic  decision making.Major issues in constructing balance tables for water resources that arise when developing policy guidelines and  methodological recommendations for the Republic of Belarus are  reviewed. The key theoretical aspects of water resources accounting  are highlighted. The authors assessed the potential of constructing  satellite accounts for «Water resources» at the country and regional  level. The development of this satellite account will allow to evaluate  the production in the water sector and the relationship between supply and demand for water resources within the economy; it will  provide international comparability of statistical estimates of natural  resources, and also in the long run will allow to determine the multiplicative effect of the state of water resources on the  economy of the country. The primary and statistical accounting of  water at the level of water canals is considered in detail (on the  example of UE «Minskvodokanal »). The analysis of the identity of  the seizure and use of water in SEEA-water and the Ministry of  Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of  Belarus was carried out, and indicators that are characteristic only of the Republic of Belarus are highlighted, as they reflect its national (in particular, legal) features of water fund use. In the proposed standard scheme of a satellite account for water resources, they are  not reflected. The informational challenges of constructing resource  and water use balance tables are considered. A scheme for  interaction between individual ministries, agencies and the National  Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus in the development  of statistical indicators for water resources with a description of  individual stages has been developed. For each stage, information flows are formed, as well as return streams of  information. The authors built a pyramid of information flows on  water between producers of information and its users.

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