The Data Needs of UNEP’s Global
Environmental Outlook (GEO 4)
Intersecretariat Working Group on Environment
Statistics, International Work Session on Water
Statistics, Vienna, June 20-22, 2005
GEO
In response to the environmental reporting
requirements of Agenda 21 and to UNEP’s GC
decision of May 1995:
 A comprehensive global state of the environment
report.
 Produced using a regional and participatory
approach
 Input is from a wide range of sources throughout
the world including: a network of more than 30
Collaborating Centres, United Nations
organizations, and independent experts.
GEO OBJECTIVES
 Provide a comprehensive, scientifically-credible, policyrelevant, up-to-date assessment of, and outlook for, the state
of the global environment.
 Analyze environmental conditions, trends and emerging
issues, pressures and driving forces, primary and secondary
effects, environmental values and costs to society, and policy
response options and their future implications.
 Assess and synthesize the state of knowledge from best
available sources, including data and relevant assessments
at global and sub-global levels.
 Recognize that interaction between science and policy is
crucial to identify user needs and ensure the legitimacy,
relevance and ownership of assessments.
GEO Data Portal
Online database holds more than 450
different variables, as national, subregional,
regional and global statistics or as geospatial
data sets (maps)
Covers themes like freshwater, population,
forests, emissions, climate, disasters, health
and GDP.
Water quality data is available only to 1990.
http://geodata.unep.ch
GEO 1-2-3 Data Gaps
• Renewable energy
• Water quality and groundwater resources
• Waste (solid & water, disposal and
treatment/management)
• Land degradation
• Oceans (reference data, pollution/health)
• Ecosystems base data (wetlands, etc)
• Population density (times series, urban/rural split)
Anticipated GEO-4 Data Gaps
• Governance (environmental policies, conventions
and their effectiveness, including transparency &
access to information)
• Air emissions, urban air quality and health impact
• Exotic/invasive species
• Poverty & prosperity
• Chemicals exposure & health
• Glacier & polar ice melting
• Technology use
• Environment Peace and security
• Targets and reference values
• Gender and Environment (disparities)
• Need trend data from all areas of the world.