AUTHORS: Daniela Russi – Patrick ten Brink

Water quality accounts can support water management and policy by systematising information in a structured and coherent way. They can be analysed together with water quantity accounts and other kinds of environmental-economics accounts (e.g. land accounts, environmental protection expenditure accounts) to help make better policy decisions.

While there is already considerable experience with accounting for water quantity, water quality accounts are still in their infancy. National experimentation and dialogue between those developing accounts and those potentially making use of them will be essential in the coming years to improve the quality and policy use of water accounts.