Beyond Decision Support: Economic Additionality in Biological Asset, Biodiversity and Natural Capital Accounting in South Africa

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine whether nature-related accounting changes economic decisions and resource use in a South African context. Design/Methodology/Approach: A qualitative critical-integrative review examined 51 purposively selected sources, including 42 academic studies and nine institutional or standard-setting documents. Abductive thematic analysis was used to distinguish between economic relevance, information effects, decision use, changes in resource allocation and outcomes that could reasonably be linked to the accounting information. Findings: Nature has clear economic value, and nature-related accounting increasingly supports valuation and decision-making. However, there is less evidence that accounting itself changes investment, financing, production or public spending. The key issue is attribution: using information does not prove that it changed the decision, and a changed decision does not prove that accounting caused the economic outcome. Implications/Originality/Value: The study separates the economic importance of nature from the actual economic effects of accounting for it. It develops a seven-step Nature-Accounting Economic Additionality Framework and identifies the need to test how well different nature-related information systems work together in South Africa.