China will explore the development of balance sheets for natural resources, striving to gain a clear understanding of the “assets” and their changes related to natural resources such as land, forests, and water resources. This effort will provide an informational foundation for improving the performance evaluation and accountability system for ecological civilization, which takes into account resource consumption, environmental damage, and ecological benefits. It will also offer information support, monitoring and early-warning capabilities, and decision-making assistance for advancing ecological civilization and promoting green, low-carbon development. On September 17, the State Council Information Office held a press conference during which relevant authorities introduced the main contents of the "Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform" and its associated supporting documents, and answered questions from reporters. Xu Xianchun, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, provided an introduction and explanation of the key contents of the "Pilot Program for Preparing Balance Sheets for Natural Resources."

Xu Xianchun pointed out that compiling a balance sheet of natural resource assets and liabilities is an important foundational institutional reform for the ecological civilization system. In accordance with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the National Bureau of Statistics has, through in-depth investigation and research, extensively solicited opinions from relevant departments and experts, and fully drawn on and incorporated international standards and advanced international practices to develop a pilot program. Recently, this “Pilot Program” has been reviewed and approved by the central authorities.

Xu Xianchun introduced that the accounting content of the natural resource balance sheet primarily includes land resources, forest resources, and water resources. The land resource balance sheet mainly covers the stock and changes in the use of land types such as cultivated land, forest land, and grassland, as well as the distribution and changes in the quality grades of cultivated land and grassland. The forest resource balance sheet includes the standing timber volume and the standing timber volume per unit area for natural forests, planted forests, and other forest types. The water resource balance sheet covers surface water and groundwater resources, as well as the distribution and changes in water quality grades.

Xu Xianchun stated that compiling a balance sheet for natural resources is an entirely new undertaking that requires pilot programs to be conducted in selected regions. According to the Pilot Program, these pilot regions will collect and verify relevant basic data, study key issues such as data sources, accounting methods, and data quality control, and explore ways to produce high-quality balance sheets for natural resources. Given the priority of accounting for natural resources with significant ecological functions, the pilot regions will primarily focus on developing physical-volume balance sheets for land resources, forest resources, and water resources; where conditions permit, they may also explore the development of physical-volume balance sheets for mineral resources. Throughout the pilot process, the results and existing problems will be promptly summarized and evaluated, so as to generate reform experiences that can be replicated and scaled up. Based on the lessons learned from the pilot programs, the National Bureau of Statistics, together with relevant national authorities, will formulate a unified system for compiling balance sheets of natural resources and ultimately produce a comprehensive balance sheet for China’s natural resources.

Xu Xianchun also answered reporters’ questions on how to ensure the quality of data in the natural resource balance sheet. He stated that the National Bureau of Statistics attaches great importance to the issue of data quality in the natural resource balance sheet and has adopted a series of measures to guarantee its accuracy. These key measures fall into three main areas:

First, scientifically design the accounting system for the balance sheet of natural resource assets. Based on the needs of China’s ecological civilization development, as well as China’s resource endowments and statistical monitoring capabilities, and in accordance with the United Nations... [ Weibo ] Develop a relatively scientific pilot program by drawing on international standards such as the integrated environmental accounting system formulated by international organizations and learning from the experiences of other countries. By conducting pilot programs in selected regions, promptly summarize lessons learned, and further refine the system for compiling natural resource balance sheets.

Second, we must make full use of the foundational data provided by the competent authorities for natural resources. For a long time, these authorities have leveraged modern technological tools—such as scientific survey methods and satellite remote sensing technology—to significantly enhance their capacity for monitoring natural resource statistics. As a result, they have collected and accumulated a large volume of high-quality natural resource statistical data, providing essential foundational support for the preparation of natural resource balance sheets.

Third, we will strengthen the assessment of data quality. The National Bureau of Statistics, in collaboration with relevant departments of the State Council, will rigorously evaluate the quality of natural resource statistical data through on-site verification, logical analysis, data validation, and other methods. Any illegal or disciplinary violations, including falsification of data, will be seriously investigated and dealt with according to law. At the same time, we will scientifically assess and properly utilize the underlying data in accordance with the concepts, classification standards, accounting scope, and accounting methods for natural resource accounting, thereby ensuring that the data in the natural resource balance sheet are authentic and reliable.

It is understood that the pilot regions are: Hulunbuir City in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Huzhou City in Zhejiang Province, Loudi City in Hunan Province, Chishui City in Guizhou Province, and Yan'an City in Shaanxi Province. The pilot period runs from the second half of 2015 to the end of December 2016.