Policy-Based Green Accounting in Basic Education Institutions in Low-Income Countries: Contributions and Missing Dimensions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70232/jrese.v3i2.71Keywords:
Basic Education Institution, Environmental Convention, Environmental Protocol, Environmental Policy, Environmental Performance, Green Accounting, Welfare FunctionAbstract
In this paper, I argue that green accounting in basic education institutions in low-income countries receives an inevitable priority in policy innovation demands currently. The paper analyses the contributions and salient gaps in the implementation of selected environmental conventions, protocols, and policy frameworks, and local priorities for green accounting in basic education institutions. The analysis is grounded in economic theory and affirms the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An online ethnographic review was used to collect and systematically analyse 26 documents, including 7 environmental conventions, 3 related protocols, 1 local policy, and 15 related research publications gathered using the PRISMA approach. The analysis reveals that green accounting faces a parochial place in the implementation of environment-affecting programmes in basic education institutions of low-income countries. This situation results from inadequate local institutional capacity in terms of finances, technicalities, and technologies necessary to comply with the contentions of implemented documents. Consequently, despite the high proportions of ratifications of the documents by the State parties, environmental conservation, protection, and rehabilitation goals are not realised to the expected extent. It is imperative that the eco-environmental economic cost implications of running basic education institutions be accounted for, and there are adjustments in policy frameworks to facilitate environmental performance in local institutions.
References
Adebayo, W. G. (2024). Resilience in the face of ecological challenges: Strategies for integrating environmental considerations into social policy planning in Africa. Sustainable Development, 33(1), 203-220. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3113
Akhtar-Schuster, M., Stringer, L. C., Metternicht, G., Barger, N. N., Chotte, J. L., & Kust, G. (2022). Assessing the Impact of Science in the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Land, 11(4), 568. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11040568
Bento, A. L. (2017). All that is gold does not glitter: Mercury exposure to children in artisanal and small scale gold mines and the inadequacy of the Minamata Convention. Journal of International Business and Law, 16(2), 10. https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/jibl/vol16/iss2/10
Chandra, A., Idrisova, A. (2011). Convention on Biological Diversity: a review of national challenges and opportunities for implementation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 20, 3295–3316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0141-x
Doobee, L. P., Ironkwe, U. I., & Nwaiwu, J. N. (2024). Green accounting practice and listed oil and gas companies’ performance metric in Nigeria. Social Science and Humanities Research, 7(6), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12684135
Ford, J., Maillet, M., & Pouliot, V., Meredith, T., Cavanaugh, A., Lwasa, S., Llanos, A., Berrang-Ford, L., Carcamo, C., Namanya, D., & Harper, S. (2016). Adaptation and indigenous peoples in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Climatic Change, 139, 429–443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1820-0
Gonzalez, C. C., & Pena-Vinces, J. (2022). A framework for a green accounting system-exploratory study in a developing country context, Colombia. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 25, 9517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02445-w
Hansson, A., Fridahl, M., Haikola, S., Yanda, P., Pauline, N., & Mabhuye, E. (2020). Preconditions for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage in sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Tanzania. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 22, 6851-6875. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-019-00517-y
Hickmann, T., Widerberg, O., Lederer, M., & Pattberg, P. (2021). The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat as an orchestrator in global climate policymaking. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 87(1), 21-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852319840425
Mike, M. (2023). Chinese firms and adherence to global environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards in developing countries: Is there potential to create common ground? Discussion Paper, No. 18/2023. German Institute of Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.23661/idp18.2023
Muller, F., Neumann, M., Elsner, C., & Claar, S. (2021). Assessing African energy transition: Renewable energy policies, energy justice, and SDG 7. Politics and Governance, 9(1), 119-130. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i1.3615
Novovic, B., Jaksic, S. A., Lalevic, F. A., Kascelan, L. (2022). Research of attitudes toward implementation of green accounting in tourism industry in Montenegro-Practices, and challenges. Sustainability, 14(3), 1725. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031725
Núñez-Rocha, T., & Martínez-Zarzoso, I. (2019). Are international environmental policies effective? The case of the Rotterdam and the Stockholm Conventions. Economic Modelling, 81, 480-502, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.04.013
Nurfaidah, Syaridfuddin, A., & Hadidu, B. (2013). The impact of accounting implementation and environmental performance on corporate financial performance. East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(12), 5135-5152. https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v2i12.7323
Oh, S. Y. (2006). Sound management of chemicals in developing countries under the Rotterdam Convention. Sustainable Development Law & Policy, 37, 74. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1343&context=sdlp
Osuntuyi, B. V., & Lean, H. H. (2022). Economic growth, energy consumption, and environmental degradation nexus in heterogeneous countries: Does education matter? Environmental Sciences Europe, 34, 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-022-00624-0
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. PLoS Med, 18(3), e1003583. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003583
Pirmana, V., Alisjahban, A. S., Hoekstra, R., & Tukker, A. (2019). Implementation barriers for a system of environmental-economic accounting in developing countries and its implications for monitoring sustainable development goals. Sustainability, 11, 6417. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226417
Rahman, H. M. T., Ville, A. S. S., Song, A. M., Po, J. Y. T., Berthet, E., Brammer, J. R., Brunet, N. D., Jayaprakash, L. G., Lowitt, K. N., Rastogi, A., Reed, G., & Hickey, G. M. (2017). A framework for analysing institutional gaps in natural resource governance. International Journal of the Commons, 11(2), 823-853. https://ddoi.org/10.18352/ijc.758
Sadiku, M. N. O., & Ashaolu, T. J., Adekunte, S. S., & Musa, S. M. (2021). Green accounting: A primer. International Journal of Scientific Advances, 2(1), 60-62. https://doi.org/10.51542/ijscia.v2i1.10
Sharma, B. M., Bharat, G. K., Šebková, K., & Scheringer, M. (2019). Implementation of the Minamata Convention to manage mercury pollution in India: Challenges and opportunities. Environmental Sciences Europe, 31, 96. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-019-0280-3
Sharma, S., Setia, H., & Toor, A. P. (2021). Understanding the remedial strategy of Klebsiella pneumoniae WAH1 against emerging contaminant diclofenac sodium. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 21, 101185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2020.101185
Stringer, L. (2008). Can the UN Convention to Combat Desertification guide sustainable use of the world’s soils? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6(3), 138-144. https://doi.org/10.1890/070060
Taifa, I. W. R., & Mwano, I. Y. (2026). Assessing environmental sustainability practices in building construction projects in Tanzania: A mixed-methods approach. Engineering Reports, 8(2), e70646. https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.70646
Thuy, D. V. (2024). Factors affecting the effective application of green accounting for sustainable development at Vietnam’s listed steel manufacturing companies. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation, 5(3), 9-13. https://www.allmultidisciplinaryjournal.com/uploads/archives/20240719123551_B-24-235.1.pdf
URT (1997). National environmental policy. Vice President’s Office
URT (2021). National environmental policy. Vice President’s Office
Wania F., & McLachlan, M. S. (2024). The Stockholm Convention at a crossroads: Questionable nominations and inadequate compliance threaten its acceptance and utility. Environment Science & Technology, 58(31), 13587-13593. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c06775
Wanki, E. A., Egute, T. O., & Ezeamama, A. A. (2022). Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. In E. Albreacht, T. O. Egute, E. A. Wanki, & A. A. Ezeamana (Eds.), International Environmental Law (IEL)–Agreements and introduction (pp. 218-219). BTU-Eigenverlag.
Wiredu, I., Agyemang, O., & Agbadzidah, S. Y. (2023). Does green accounting influences econlogical sustainability? Evidence from development a developing economy. Cogent Business & Management, 10(2), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2240559
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Reuben Bihu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
