Natural Resources Accounting is provided into two versions, physical ac
counting and monetary accounting. If one is to construct environmental and natural resources indicators one need reliable information on physical changes that are taking place in the environment, or can be combined with valuation data to yield monetary indicators.
3.2. The Depletion of Natural Resources
The rate of depletion of natural resources can be used as an indicator to know how long the existing of natural resources can be used to support the economic activities and how this influence the level of economic performance. Depletion of natural resources can have serious indirect effects by reducing the sustainable flow needed for industrial input and ecosystem services. Countries which much depends to natural resources will face problems if its natural resources exhausted. Its current income will eventually disappear. Only careful husbandry of environmental capacities can ensure sustainable and potentially larger flows of income in the future (El Satary and Lutz).
4. INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Indicators for sustainability can be seen from social, ecology and economic points of view as has been described before. The social approach to sustainable development lays emphasis on the continuity of satisfaction of the basic human needs and the improvement the quality of human life. Several related indicators are:
- growth of food production
- growth of housing construction
- percentage of people living in the better house condition
- percentage of household by source of water used (pipe water, well, etc)
- growth rate of population (the slower growth is preferable)
- life expectancy at birth
- percentage of people at high education level
- mean years of schooling
