OECD
World
Forum
onon
Key
Indicators
OECD
World
Forum
Key
Indicators
Statistics,
Statistics,Knowledge
Knowledgeand
andPolicy
Policy
Palermo,
10-13
November
2004
Palermo,
10-13
November
2004
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
1
NATURAL CAPITAL:
NEW MEASURES TO MONITOR
THE ECONOMY'S ECOLOGICAL
FOUNDATIONS
Carolyn Cahill, Senior Policy Advisor
National Round Table on the
Environment and the Economy
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
2
Today’s Objectives
• Describe the role of these indicators
• Explain the focus on capital and ecosystem
services
• Describe some lessons learned, including
the importance of data structures
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
3
The NRTEE
• Arm’s length advisory agency to the
Canadian federal government
• Members from different regions and sectors
• Provides advice on how to balance concern
for the environment and the economy
• Try to move beyond dept and sectoral silos
• Don’t have to push for consensus
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
4
SOVEREIGN
Governor
General
Senate
PARLIAMENT
House of
Commons
Minister of the
Environment
Prime Minister’s
Office
Prime Minister
Ministry
Minister of
Foreign Affairs
Minister of Finance
Privy Council
Office
JUDICIARY
•National Round Table on the Environment
and the Economy
Minister of Natural
Resources
Minister of Health
• Supreme Court of Canada
• Federal Court of Canada
• Tax Court of Canada
Minister of Industry
(Statistics Canada)
Department of
Environment
Department of
Foreign Affairs and
International Trade
Department of
Finance
Department of
Natural Resources
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
Department of
Health
Department of
Industry
5
Indicators are an act of translation
• Simple signals in a complex world
• Need to know who you’re speaking to, and
for what reason –
• In this case, “audience” was the Canadian
Minister of Finance….
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
6
The Mandate
“… understanding how ecological
functions contribute to economic
activity is an essential part of
managing responsibly for future
generations.”
Paul Martin, May 2001
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
7
Role of the Indicators
• Supplement (not replace) macro-economic
indicators to:
Help answer the question “are we living at the
expense of future generations”?
Point out these issues in an economic forum,
gain a new context, new audience.
• Required characteristics: link to economic
context, small set, easy to understand
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
8
Why the Focus on Capital?
• A way of expressing SD’s concern with
inter-generational equity
• A way of illustrating the dependence of the
economy on a broad range of capital,
particularly ecosystem services.
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
9
Indicators (I)
Air Quality (population weighted
exposure for ground-level ozone) –
3% increase since 1986
Water Quality (based on exceedances
of surface water quality guidelines) –
22% of water bodies “poor” or
“marginal” in 2002-2003
Greenhouse Gas Emissions – 18.5%
increase since 1990
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
10
Indicators (II)
Forest Cover (based on satellite
imaging) – 392 hectares in 1998
Extent of Wetlands (based on satellite
imaging) – medium term option only
Educational attainment (% of working
age pop’n with upper-secondary and
tertiary qualifications) - from 43% in
1990 to 55% in 2000
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
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Lessons Re: Scope
• Small set of indicators – can’t cover the
necessary complexities and are only illustrative.
Fine line between ”simple” and “simplistic”
• Genuine disagreements: important to discuss to
continue the development of this issue.
Inclusion of intra-generational equity
Expressing indicators in monetary terms
International/trade context
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
12
Lessons Re: Data
• Capital indicators aren’t enough. Need
data structures to better analyse the
link between today’s economy and
state of all types of capital.
• National data picture patchy and
incomplete. Few “real” indicators (i.e.,
few time series).
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
13
Final Result
• Small number of illustrative indicators
of natural and human capital – 3
indicators “officially” adopted in 2003.
• Need for the expansion of the System
of Natural Accounts
• Need for better national environmental
databases.
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
14
Last Thoughts
Focus tends to reside on picking the
“right” indicators.
Good data structures will allow the
development of indicators for different
audiences, different purposes.
Perhaps the best approach to a national
approach to performance indicators
that is both integrated and flexible.
OECD World Forum “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy”, Palermo, 10-13 November 2004
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