Environmental Accounting and Sustainable Economic Growth in Nigeria: A practice-oriented case study of Anambra (2021-2025)

Ikilidih; Joy Nkechi; Okezie Agnes Ezechukwu

doi:10.56201/jafm.vol.11.no10.2025.pg276.287

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Environmental Accounting and Sustainable Economic Growth in Nigeria: A practice-oriented case study of Anambra (2021-2025)

Ikilidih, Joy Nkechi, Okezie Agnes Ezechukwu

Abstract

Traditional measures of economic performance, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fail to account for the depletion of natural capital and the environmental costs of production. This omission often leads to the overestimation of growth and the underappreciation of sustainability challenges. This paper develops an environmental-adjusted growth accounting prototype for state planners, using the case of Anambra State, Nigeria, as a reference. The prototype integrates environmental accounting methods drawing from the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework with economic growth models, thereby generating an adjusted measure of income and productivity that reflects environmental costs. Policy recommendations derived from the analysis emphasize institutionalizing environmental accounting within state planning processes, reforming land-use and erosion management policies, and integrating Green GDP indicators into development strategies. The study provides a replicable model for other subnational governments seeking to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability. The depletion of natural capital and the environmental costs of production are not taken into consideration by traditional economic performance metrics like GDP. This omission frequently causes growth to be overestimated and sustainability issues to be underestimated. Using the example of Anambra State, Nigeria, as a guide, this paper creates a prototype of environmental- adjusted growth accounting for state planners. The prototype creates an adjusted measure of income and productivity that accounts for environmental costs by combining economic growth models with environmental accounting techniques, which are based on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework. The analysis's policy recommendations place a strong emphasis on incorporating Green GDP indicators into development plans, updating land-use and erosion contro

References

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Environmental Accounting and Sustainable Economic Growth in Nigeria: A practice-oriented case study of Anambra (2021-2025)

Abstract

References

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