The Classification of Environmental Purposes (CEP) is a generic, functional classification of economic activities, products, expenditures and other transactions related to environmental protection and the management of natural resources, adopted in March 2024 (UNSTATS, 2024[19]). Environmental activities in the CEP are defined as “economic activities whose purpose is to reduce or eliminate pressures on the environment or to make more efficient use of natural resources” (UNSTATS, 2024, p. 10[19]). CEP classifies environmental activities (e.g. relevant production activities), environmental products (e.g. the purchase of solar panels) and other environmental expenditures (e.g. waste management that requires equipment that may not be specific to the environment but required for the activity) (UNSTATS, 2024[19]).
Noting that one of the building principles of the CEP is to provide to policy makers and users an instrument to organise the available information according to their needs, and recognising the need for greater flexibility, while still adhering to statistics principles of mutual exclusivity, CEP puts forward an approach to mapping primary purpose expenditures to encompass “policy areas” more broadly (including for biodiversity).1 It does this by allowing to add across different relevant categories of primary purposes. It provides the following three Level II groups as an example of what might considered fully relevant under the biodiversity “policy area” (UNSTATS, 2024[19]):
Protection of biodiversity and landscape (0502)
Protection of soil, surface and groundwater (0501)
Management of forest resources (0503).
CEP Level II Group 0502 covers “activities, expenditures and products aimed at protecting and replenishment of wild fauna and flora, safeguarding and restoring their habitats, ecosystems of which they are part, natural or semi-natural terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems” (UNSTATS, 2024, pp. 53-54[19]).
Group 0502 includes: • the environmental rehabilitation of abandoned mining and quarrying sites and related expenditure.
It excludes: • farming and gardening activities (outside the scope of CEP classification except organic farming included under CEP 0501); • the protection and rehabilitation of historic monuments or predominantly built-up landscapes; • the control of weeds for agricultural purposes; • the recreational structures and spaces such as urban parks and gardens, golf courses and other sports facilities; • management of zoos, oceanarium, aquarium, and of city greenery; • establishment and maintenance of green spaces along roads; • ‘extraction’ activities, such as ‘hunting’ or ‘fishing’; • activities related to soil cleaning (to be reported under CEP 0501).
CEP Level II Group 0501 covers “activities, expenditures and products aimed at the prevention of pollutant infiltration, cleaning up of soils and water bodies and the protection of soil from erosion and other physical degradation including salinisation”.
Group 0501 includes: • prevention of pollutant infiltration; • cleaning up of soil and water bodies; • protection from erosion; • prevention and remediation of soil and groundwater salinity; • monitoring of soil and groundwater pollution; • activities for protection and remediation of marine environment.
It excludes: • wastewater management activities, expenditures and products (CEP 0301), • activities, expenditures and products aimed at the protection of biodiversity and landscape (CEP 0502).
CEP Level II Group 0503 covers “activities, expenditures and products related to the conservation and replenishment of timber stocks and sustainable management of forests. The management of forest resources concerns all types of forests (planted, natural or naturally regenerated according to SEEA classification) in both forests available for wood supply and forests not available for wood supply but excluding the management of protected areas and nature conservation activities (CEP 0502)”.
Group 0503 includes: • restoration, replenishment activities or development of new forest areas, for example: reforestation and afforestation, machinery for planting; • the prevention and control of forest fires, biological and mechanical control of pests, for example: development of firewalls; • forest-management-related land improvements, for example: soil conservation, fertilisation and liming to improve soil properties, terracing works to reduce erosion, reclamation of unproductive land and land from sea for forestry; • activities and products concerning M&M related to sustainable management of forests; • ETIGA activities linked to the sustainable management of forests.
It excludes: • activities related to roundwood production (both industrial roundwood and fuelwood) and extraction of non-wood forest products (mushrooms, truffles, berries, nuts, balata and other rubber-like gums, cork, lac and resins, balsams, vegetable hair, eelgrass, acorns, horse chestnuts, mosses and lichens); • afforestation, reforestation with invasive alien tree species or management of invasive alien tree species for timber production; • protection and management of biodiversity in forest areas (included under CEP 0502); • control of invasive alien tree species (included under CEP 0502); • pest control using chemical agents (of non-biological origin); • buildings, unless serving exclusively forest-related environmental purpose; • machinery associated with timber extraction and machinery associated with fire protection unless serving exclusively to fight forest fire; • activities of soil protection outside forest areas (included under CEP 0501).
Another option for consideration by Parties could be to report to the CBD on CEP 0502, 0501 (and possibly CEP 0503 with a co-efficient), and to clearly indicate if any additional elements of expenditure are also reported from any other CEP categories (e.g. notably by EU countries) that could be considered relevant. As an illustration, these might include elements from other CEP categories, such as those indicated in Table A C.1 below (e.g. 070702). In the longer term and following the revision of COFOG, which is anticipated to be completed in 2028, a similar policy mapping approach as proposed under CEP could be undertaken via the COFOG.