Developing Integrated Indicators to
Support Climate Adaptation and
Sustainability Decision Making
Robert S. Chen, Alex de Sherbinin, and Marc Levy
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)
The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Indicators are
stepping stones
between data and
knowledge
Indicators anchor
discourse and
action around
common metrics
“How’m I doin’?”
Indicators provide
beacons in stormy
seas of complexity
and rapid change
Getting indicators
right requires
ability to navigate
across disciplinary,
stakeholder and
data format divides







Consumer Price Index
Unemployment Rate
US Federal Debt
Human Development Report
Health/Medical indicators
World Economic Forum Competitiveness Index
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Doomsday Clock

Ranked countries by
progress towards
environmental
sustainability
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/esi


Narrower focus on performance—
factors under the control of
governments
Used remote sensing and other
geospatial data for key indicators,
e.g., estimates of forest loss and
particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/epienvironmental-performance-index-pilot-trend-2012

Released in Davos, Switzerland at the 2014
annual meeting of the World Economic Forum
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/e
pi-environmental-performance-index-2014
http://ciesin.columbia.edu/binaries/web/gl
obal/news/2013/indicatorsinpractice.pdf

Natural Resource Protection
Indicator
◦

Measure of level of protection
afforded to a country’s biomes
Child Health Indicator
◦
Measure of a government’s
commitment to child health as
indicated by child mortality, sound
management of water resources and
water systems, and proper sewage
disposal and sanitary control
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/nrmi-naturalresource-protection-child-health-indicators-2013

Spatial vulnerability index
comprised of 18 indicators grouped
into three vulnerability components
◦ Exposure indicators include average
precipitation, interannual variation in
precipitation and NDVI, flood
frequency
◦ Sensitivity indicators include poverty
measures, conflict, soil quality
◦ Adaptive capacity indicators include
education, health, biome type, market
access, irrigated area


Changes in index estimated under
future climate scenarios
Developed for the USAID African
and Latin American Resilience to
Climate Change (ARCC) project
http://ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/Mali-CV-Mapping.pdf


Report to the UN Secretary-General
delivered in November 2014:
A World That Counts: Mobilising
the Data Revolution for
Sustainable Development
Key issues:
◦ Accessibility and accountability
◦ Expanded set of sustainable development
Indicators
◦ Data innovation
◦ Data landscape
http://www.undatarevolution.org/
Needs Assessment of SDG Monitoring
and Data for Development




Recommends a typology for
Development Data
Provides estimates of envelope costs
for sustainable development data
production for 77 IDA countries
The global community should
mobilize to collectively fund $1billion
per annum in monitoring systems.
Innovations for cost reductions
should be systematically integrated
into broader data systems. This
includes geospatial data, satellite
data, crowd-sourcing, smart-meters,
mobile phone data collection and
data mining.
http://unsdsn.org/resources/publications/a-needs-assessmentfor-sdg-monitoring-and-statistical-capacity-development/
Goal 1 | End Poverty
• Proposed indicator on losses from natural disasters
• Poverty maps
Goal 2 | Hunger and
Food Security
• Crop yield estimates, soil characteristics, crop
water productivity, irrigation
• Nutritional status maps
Goal 3 | Health and
Well-being
• Health facility maps
• Disease incidence and risk maps
Goal 4 | Education
• School facility maps
• Literacy and educational achievement maps
Goal 6 | Water and
Sanitation
• Water resources
• Water and sanitation access maps
Goal 9 | Access to
Infrastructure
• Roads, Public transportation
• Mobility maps
• Facilities inventories
Goal 11 | Cities
• Access to public green space
• Substandard housing maps
Goal 12 | Sustainable
Consumption
• Energy productivity maps
• Pollution maps
Goal 13 | Combating
Climate Change
• CO2 emissions
• Exposure to extreme storms and droughts
Goal 14 | Marine and
coastal ecosystems
• Coastal/Marine protected areas
• Harmful algal blooms
• Eutrophication
Goal 15 | Terrestrial
ecosystems
Goal 16 | Peaceful
and inclusive societies
• Land cover, land degradation, bio-diversity
• Protected areas
• Maps of political violence
• Crime maps
• Refugee and IDP movement
Core National
Geospatial Data
Capacity
National Facilities and
Infrastructure
Inventories
• Critical for numerous
indicator visualization and
analysis
• 10 specific facility types
mentioned in SDG targets
National Medium
Resolution Satellite
Imagery at National
Scale
• Forests, land degradation,
soils, air, urban extents
Geo-referenced
Population Data
Global Environmental
Monitoring Systems
• Census data, built structures
• Water resources, air quality,
land degradation
For further information:
http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu
Author unknown
http://weknowmemes.com/2012/06/the-credible-hulk/