Navigating the Technical Guidance

Field	Value
Circular ID	TG-0.5
Version	2.0
Badge	Core
Status	Completed
Last Updated	February 2026

This Circular is a reader's guide to the full Technical Guidance. It maps the conceptual framework from TG-0.1 to specific circulars and provides role-based reading pathways. Read this after TG-0.1 to plan your route through the remaining circulars.

1. Outcome

This Circular provides readers with a comprehensive navigation guide to the Technical Guidance on Ocean Accounting. Readers will understand how the conceptual framework in Circular 0.1 maps to specific circulars, identify dependencies between circulars, and find appropriate reading pathways based on their role and interests.

2. Requirements

Essential prerequisites:

TG-0.1 General Introduction to Ocean Accounts -- for the conceptual framework and the Ocean Accounts Framework structure

3. Structure Overview

3.1 Stability Classification (Badges)

Each circular carries a stability badge indicating its relationship to underlying standards:

Badge	Meaning	Update Trigger	Example
Core	Based on adopted international standards (2025 SNA, SEEA CF, SEEA EA)	Only when standards are formally revised by UNSC	0.1 General Introduction
Applied	Interprets standards for ocean context; stable but may evolve with practice	Annual review cycle	3.1 Assets
Emerging	Addresses topics where standards are still developing (SEEA-Oceans)	Updated as standards crystallise	3.6 Traditional Knowledge
Pilot	Experimental methods being tested; may be withdrawn	After pilot evaluation period	Country-specific innovations

3.2 Version Numbering

Format: TG-[Section].[Number]-v[Major].[Minor]

Example: TG-0.1-v2.0 (Technical Guidance, Section 0, Circular 1, Version 2.0)

Major version increment: Substantive content changes (new standards, corrected errors)
Minor version increment: Editorial improvements, clarifications, added examples

4. Edge Mapping: Framework to Circulars

This table maps the 11 directed edges from TG-0.1 Figure 0.1.2 to the circulars that address each relationship:

Edge	Direction	Description	Primary Circular(s)
E1	FG1→SG3	Pollution/residuals from economy to environment	3.4 Flows econ→env, 2.7 Pollution flows
E2	FG2→SG3	Pollution/residuals from society to environment	3.4 Flows econ→env, 3.5 Social accounts
E3	FG1↔SG1	Monetary flows between assets and economic sectors	3.1 Assets, 3.3 Economic activity
E4	FG2↔SG1	Social activities ↔ SNA assets	3.5 Social accounts
E5	FG1→SG2	Economic contributions to social conditions	3.5 Social accounts, 3.3 Economic activity
E6	FG2→SG2	Social activities to social conditions	3.5 Social accounts, 3.7 Governance
E7	SG2→FG1	Social assets enabling economic flows	3.7 Governance, 3.3 Economic activity
E8	SG2→FG2	Social assets enabling social activities	3.5 Social accounts, 3.7 Governance
E9	SG3→FG1	Ecosystem services to economy (SEEA)	3.2 Flows env→econ, 2.4 Ecosystem goods/services
E10	SG3→FG2	Ecosystem services to society	3.2 Flows env→econ, 3.5 Social accounts
E11	FG3↔SG3	Intermediate ecosystem services	3.2 Flows env→econ, 2.1 Biophysical indicators

5. Audience Pathways

Seven user archetypes with curated reading sequences:

5.1 Policy Executive

Audience: Ministers, senior government officials, heads of agencies

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
0.1 General Introduction	0.1 → relevant 1.x (policy context) → one 5.x case study	Delegate detail to technical staff

Suggested reading: ~2 hours total

5.2 National Statistician

Audience: NSO compilers, official statisticians building ocean accounts

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
0.2 Standards Overview	0.1 → 0.2 → 3.1-3.5 (all accounts circulars) → 4.x (data)	2.x for indicator production

Suggested reading: Full engagement with Section 3

5.3 Ecosystem Analyst

Audience: Technical staff measuring ecosystem assets, condition, and services

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
0.1 → 3.1 Assets	0.1 → 3.1 → 3.2 (env→econ flows) → 2.4 (ecosystem goods/services)	1.9 Valuation, 5.x cases

Suggested reading: Focus on asset and flow circulars

5.4 Blue Finance Practitioner

Audience: Development banks, fund managers, sovereign debt offices, impact investors

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
1.7 Multilateral Finance	0.1 → 1.7 → 1.8 → 2.6 (investment indicators) → 3.1 (asset baselines)	5.9 (Belize), 5.2 (Maldives), 5.1 (Indonesia)

Suggested reading: Investment pipeline focused, with case study verification

5.4b MSP/MPA Practitioner

Audience: Spatial planners, marine park managers, coastal zone managers

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
1.2 MSP	0.1 → 1.2 → 1.3 (MSM/MPAs) → 3.1 (assets) → relevant 6.x	5.6 (Geographe), 5.4 (Fiji/Vanuatu)

Suggested reading: Spatially focused, with ecosystem-specific deep dives

Audience: Researchers on livelihoods, equity, governance, traditional knowledge

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
3.5 Social Accounts	0.1 → 3.5 → 3.6 (traditional knowledge) → 3.7 (governance)	2.3 Livelihood dependencies

Suggested reading: Social-focused subset

5.6 Implementation Coordinator

Audience: Country project managers, NSO leads, inter-ministerial task force chairs

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
0.8 Readiness Assessment	0.8 → 0.1 → 4.7 (data coordination) → 3.8 (combined presentations) → relevant 3.x	1.10 (national planning), 5.x case studies

Suggested reading: Start with readiness assessment, then build outward based on country phase

5.7 Research Frontier

Audience: Academics, methodologists extending ocean accounting state of the art

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
0.2 + "Emerging" circulars	0.1 → 0.2 → all "Emerging"-badged circulars → "Pilot" circulars	Contribute to new Pilot circulars

Suggested reading: Comprehensive; focus on unresolved questions

5.8 Sub-National Planner

Audience: Provincial/municipal planning officers, marine park managers, coastal zone managers

Entry Point	Core Sequence	Extensions
3.11 Sub-National Accounts	0.1 → 3.11 → 3.8 (combined presentations) → relevant 6.x (ecosystem methods)	5.6 (Geographe), 5.1 (Indonesia provincial)

Suggested reading: Sub-national methodology first, then ecosystem methods relevant to local context

6. Dependency Graph

The following diagram shows dependencies between circulars. Arrows indicate "enables" relationships (A → B means A must be read before B).

                           ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
                           │                    SECTION 0                            │
                           │                  Front Matter                           │
                           └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                                    │
                           ┌────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┐
                           │                        │                        │
                           ▼                        ▼                        ▼
                      ┌─────────┐              ┌─────────┐              ┌─────────┐
                      │  0.1    │              │  0.2    │              │  0.6    │
                      │ General │──────────────│Standards│              │Glossary │
                      │  Intro  │              │Overview │              │         │
                      └────┬────┘              └────┬────┘              └─────────┘
                           │                        │
           ┌───────────────┼───────────────┬───────┴───────┐
           │               │               │               │
           ▼               ▼               ▼               ▼
      ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐
      │  0.5    │     │  0.7    │     │   1.x   │     │   3.x   │
      │Navigate │     │   QA    │     │Decision │     │Accounts │
      │         │     │Principles│    │  Use    │     │Compiling│
      └─────────┘     └─────────┘     └────┬────┘     └────┬────┘
                                            │               │
      ┌─────────┐                           │               │
      │  0.8    │───────────────────────────┘               │
      │Readiness│                                           │
      │Assessmnt│                                           │
      └─────────┘
                                           │               │
                                           │               │
                                           ▼               ▼
                                      ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐
                                      │   2.x   │     │   4.x   │
                                      │Indicators│    │  Data   │
                                      │         │     │ Methods │
                                      └────┬────┘     └─────────┘
                                           │
                                           ▼
                                      ┌─────────┐
                                      │   5.x   │
                                      │  Case   │
                                      │ Studies │
                                      └─────────┘

Detailed Section Dependencies

Section 3: Accounts Compilation

┌──────────┐
│   0.1    │
│   0.2    │
└────┬─────┘
     │
     ▼
┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│   3.1    │────▶│   3.2    │────▶│   3.4    │
│  Assets  │     │ Env→Econ │     │ Econ→Env │
└────┬─────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘
     │
     ├─────────────────────────────┐
     │                             │
     ▼                             ▼
┌──────────┐                  ┌──────────┐
│   3.3    │                  │   3.5    │
│ Economic │                  │  Social  │
│ Activity │                  │ Accounts │
└──────────┘                  └────┬─────┘
                                   │
                              ┌────┴────┐
                              ▼         ▼
                         ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
                         │   3.6    │ │   3.7    │
                         │Trad Know │ │Governance│
                         └──────────┘ └──────────┘

┌──────────┐
│   3.11   │◀──── 3.1 (assets)
│Sub-Natl  │────▶ 3.8 (combined presentations)
└──────────┘

7. Quick Reference: All Circulars

Section 0: Concepts, Definitions and Front Matter

ID	Title	Badge	Status	Key Dependencies
0.1	General Introduction to Ocean Accounts	Core	Completed	--
0.2	Overview of Relevant Statistical Standards	Core	Draft	0.1
0.3	General Acknowledgements	Core	Draft	--
0.4	Structure and Focus of the Technical Guidance	Core	Draft	--
0.5	Navigating the Technical Guidance	Core	Completed	0.1
0.6	Glossary of Key Terms	Core	Draft	--
0.7	Quality Assurance Principles	Applied	Draft	0.1
0.8	Implementation Readiness Assessment	Applied	Draft	0.1

Section 1: Using Ocean Accounts in Decision-Making

ID	Title	Badge	Status
1.1	OA and national budget processes	Applied	Draft
1.2	OA and marine spatial planning	Applied	Draft
1.3	OA and marine spatial management (including MPAs)	Applied	Draft
1.4	OA and Sustainable Ocean Planning	Applied	Draft
1.5	OA and fisheries management	Applied	Draft
1.6	OA and environmental impact assessment	Applied	Draft
1.7	OA and multilateral development finance	Applied	Draft
1.8	OA and project-level finance	Applied	Draft
1.9	Safe usage of monetary valuation	Core	Draft
1.10	OA and National Planning Integration	Applied	Draft

Section 2: Compiling Indicators from Ocean Accounts

ID	Title	Badge	Status
2.1	Aggregate biophysical indicators of environmental state	Applied	Draft
2.2	Macro-economic dependencies on ocean ecosystems	Applied	Draft
2.3	Social and livelihood dependencies on ocean ecosystems	Applied	Draft
2.4	Environmental (including ecosystem) goods and services	Applied	Draft
2.5	Structure and function of the ocean economy	Applied	Draft
2.6	Ocean-related investment	Applied	Draft
2.7	Pollution and other flows to environment	Applied	Draft
2.8	Climate change indicators	Applied	Draft
2.9	Disaster risk indicators	Applied	Draft
2.10	Multilateral environmental agreement indicators	Applied	Draft
2.11	Resource efficiency indicators	Applied	Draft

Section 3: Compiling Ocean Accounts from Relevant Data

ID	Title	Badge	Status
3.1	Asset accounts	Applied	Draft
3.2	Flows from environment to economy	Applied	Draft
3.3	Economic activity relevant to the ocean	Applied	Draft
3.4	Flows from economy to environment	Applied	Draft
3.5	Social accounts	Emerging	Draft
3.6	Traditional Knowledge	Emerging	Draft
3.7	Governance accounts	Emerging	Draft
3.8	Combined presentations	Applied	Draft
3.9	Aquaculture accounts	Applied	Draft
3.10	Offshore energy accounts	Applied	Draft
3.11	Sub-national ocean accounts	Emerging	Draft

Section 4: Compiling and Producing Data

ID	Title	Badge	Status
4.1	Remote sensing and geospatial data	Applied	Draft
4.2	Survey methods for ocean economic activity	Applied	Draft
4.3	Administrative data sources	Applied	Draft
4.4	Citizen science and community-based monitoring	Emerging	Draft
4.5	Integrating research data into official statistics	Applied	Draft
4.6	Data harmonisation and interoperability	Applied	Draft
4.7	National Data Coordination Architectures	Applied	Draft

Section 5: Geographic and Thematic Case Studies

ID	Title	Badge	Status
5.1	Indonesia	Applied	Planned
5.2	Maldives	Applied	Planned
5.3	Thailand and Vietnam	Applied	Planned
5.4	Fiji and Vanuatu	Applied	Planned
5.5	India	Applied	Planned
5.6	Australia (Geographe Marine Park)	Applied	Planned
5.7	Australia (Blue carbon)	Applied	Planned
5.8	United States	Applied	Planned
5.9	Belize	Applied	Planned

Section 6: Thematic Methodologies

ID	Title	Badge	Status
6.1	Coral reef ecosystem accounting	Applied	Draft
6.2	Mangrove and coastal wetland accounting	Applied	Draft
6.3	Seagrass ecosystem accounting	Applied	Draft
6.4	Kelp forest and temperate reef accounting	Emerging	Draft
6.5	Pelagic and open ocean accounting	Emerging	Draft
6.6	Deep sea and ABNJ accounting	Emerging	Draft
6.7	Fisheries accounting: integrating stock assessment	Applied	Draft
6.8	Aquaculture thematic methods	Applied	Draft
6.9	Offshore energy thematic methods	Emerging	Draft
6.10	Maritime transport and ports	Applied	Draft
6.11	Coastal infrastructure accounting	Applied	Draft
6.12	Marine litter and plastics accounting	Applied	Draft
6.13	Freshwater-Marine Interaction Accounting	Emerging	Draft

8. Cross-Cutting Themes

Some topics span multiple sections and are addressed as "threads" rather than standalone circulars:

Theme	How It's Addressed
Monetary valuation	1.9 (policy framing) → 3.1-3.2 (general methods) → 6.x (context-specific) → 5.x (case studies)
Spatial methods	0.5 (BSU concept) → 3.1 (spatial asset delineation) → 4.1 (remote sensing) → 6.x (ecosystem-specific)
Uncertainty	0.7 (principles) → embedded in every 3.x and 4.x circular
Governance	3.7 (accounts) → relevant 1.x (decision use) → 5.x (country cases) → 2.x (indicators)
Traditional knowledge	3.6 (incorporation methods) → 3.5 (social accounts) → 6.x (thematic contexts)
Accounts as data pipeline to capital	3.1 (baseline asset values) → 2.6 (investment indicators) → 1.7 (multilateral pipeline) → 1.8 (project structuring) → 5.x (verification cases)
Implementation readiness	0.8 (self-assessment) → embedded "Implementation Considerations" notes in Sections 3, 4, 6
Sub-national applicability	3.11 (methodology) → embedded "Implementation Considerations" notes in Sections 3, 6

9. Acknowledgements

Authors: [To be confirmed]

Reviewers: [To be confirmed]