Environment
Sustainability
Environment - why is it
special?
1911 - first national Aust population census
1911 - first cost of living report for Australia
1932 - first BOP for Australia
1990s - first State of the Environment (SoE)
report for Australia
Environment - why is it
special?
No universal framework for environment
statistics
Most common frameworks are:
ƒ SoE
ƒ MAP
ƒ Accounting frameworks, e.g SEEA, TBL
ƒ Sustainability reporting
ƒ Wellbeing
Environment - why is it
special?
A framework should clearly define what is
being evaluated and state the question being
addressed
ƒ No universal set of indicators
ƒ New emerging issues
ƒ Changing priorities
Frameworks
National Strategy for
Ecologically Sustainable
development (NSESD)
addresses many key areas for action identified in
Agenda 21 signed at the Rio Earth Summit
In 2001, Commonwealth Ministers endorsed a
set of headline sustainability indicators for
Australia
2002 publication Are We Sustaining Australia
was the first report against these headline
sustainability indicators.
Indicators
MAP
Are we sustaining Australia?
Threatened species: annual area of land
cleared
Threatened species and endangered ecological
communities; propn of sub-regions with a)> 30%
vegetative cover and b) >10% protected
Water management areas; propn where use Water management areas; propn
>70% sustainable yield
where use >70% sustainable yield
Sites with high in-stream biodiversity
Salinity, assets at risk
Catchment condition index
Total area all forest type
Net value of rural land
Fine particles, days health standards
exceeded in major urban areas
Air pollutants, days health standards
exceed in major urban areas; SOx
NOx and particulate emissions
Total net greenhouse emissions
Total net greenhouse emissions
Renewable energy as propn of total
No oceans & estuaries indicator
Estuarine condition index
% Cwlth fisheries fully or under-fished
So how do
communities
decide which
framework and
indicators to
use?
Communities must decide for
themselves which measures are
most appropriate for them
This means indicators will differ from
one community to the next.
Environment, frameworks
and indicators
2001 SoE had 454 indicators - 75 core
ƒ 2006 SoE expected to have about 260 indicators
National Land and Water Resources Audit
ƒ 10 Matters for Target
–43 recommended indicators under 16 headings
ƒ plus 3 social and economic indicator groups with
10+ headline indicators
ƒ plus contextual information on land use
Are We Sustaining Australia
ƒ 24 headline indicators and a total of 30 indicators
ACT State Plan
resource efficiency
ƒ water consumption, energy, waste
produced
air quality and greenhouse gas
emissions
natural and cultural heritage
ƒ protected land
ƒ places on ACT heritage register
Tasmania Together
212 benchmarks, 113 indicators
Four goals under Environment
ƒ value, protect and conserve our natural and
cultural heritage (8 indicators)
ƒ value, protect and conserve our natural diversity
(5 indicators)
ƒ ensure there is a balance between environmental
protection and economic and social development
(6 indicators)
ƒ ensure our natural resources are managed in a
sustainable way now and for future generations (9
indicators)
Issues
Collecting statistics to meet a range of
evolving needs
ƒ national, state, regional, community,
neighbourhood
ƒ SoE, NLWRA, State plans, .....
ƒ progress or sustainability?
Sustainability & traditional
indicators Environment Stats Division, Stats NZ
assess change;
communicate
complex trends
and events
Traditional
Indicators
Sustainable Development
Indicators
Ambient levels of
pollution in air and
water
Use and generation of toxic
materials in production
Number of registered Number of voters who vote in
voters
elections
Median income
Number of hours of paid
employment at the average
wage required to support basic
needs
monitor and
measure
interactions
between society,
economy and
natural
environment
Issues facing ABS
What and how often
ƒ four yearly Water Account
ƒ three yearly rolling program of
environmental attitudes
ƒ two yearly NRM survey
ƒ yearly survey of Agricultural sector
Issues facing ABS
Providing statistics for 'communities'
ƒ
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ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
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NRM regions
NHT2 regions
Surface Water Management areas
River Basins
Riparian zones
Statistical Local Areas
......
What is ABS Environment
Program doing
Supporting others in development of
frameworks and indicators
ƒ NRM programmes
ƒ NLWRA
ƒ SoE
ƒ OECD
ƒ National Water Commission
ƒ UNSD
–System of Economic-Environmental Accounts
What is ABS Environment
Program doing
Informing
ƒ MAP
ƒ Environmental Trends
and Issues
ƒ Water
Account,Australia
ƒ Natural Resource
Management on
Australian Farms
ƒ Water Use on
Australian Farms
ƒ Environmental Views
and Practices
What is ABS Environment
Program doing
Research and evaluation
ƒ application of small area methodologies
ƒ modelling techniques
Developing
ƒ environmental accounts eg water, land, energy
ƒ cadastre based statistics eg land use, land
management practices,
ƒ spatial presentations
Thank you
robyn.elphinstone@abs.gov.au
kay.barney@abs.gov.au
g.vanhalderen@abs.gov.au
Aggregating indicators
Pressure Indicator
State Indicator
Response Indicator
International
(OECD)
Index of apparent
consumption of
ozone depleting
substances
Atmospheric
concentrations of
ozone depleting
substances
CFC recovery rate
National
Tropospheric ozone
concentrations
CFC concentrations
at Cape Grim
Adherence to
Montreal Protocol
targets
State
% stratospheric
ozone depletion
urban air quality,
vehicle km travelled
vehicle km travelled
by type, total & per
capita
Regional
No. vehicles and
vehicle movements
lead in atmosphere
leaded fuel price
higher than unleaded
Local
Traffic flow, volume
Lead in air
Public transport
routes