UN DESA’s Statistics Division is organizing a sub-regional workshop for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) countries, entitled “Environment Statistics in support of the implementation of the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013)” in collaboration with COMESA. It will take place in Balaclava, Mauritius on 26-29 January with hosting and on-ground support being provided by UNDP and Statistics Mauritius.

This workshop follows the United Nations Statistical Commission’s endorsement in 2013 of the revised FDES 2013 as the framework for strengthening environment statistics programmes in countries. The Commission also recognized the FDES as a useful tool in the context of Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The FDES 2013 is a multi-purpose conceptual and statistical framework which marks out the scope of environment statistics. It provides an organizing structure to guide the collection and compilation of environment statistics at the national level and is very relevant for policy analysis and decision making. This workshop will provide opportunity for participating Member States to strengthen national data production and coordinate efforts to improve environment statistics spanning topics such as water, biodiversity, agriculture, emissions of greenhouse gases, extreme events, environmental health and environmental management.

It is also very relevant to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) since many of the environment statistics to be discussed and analyzed are necessary for measurement of countries’ progress towards achieving the goals. The implementation of the FDES 2013 will help countries address the increasing demand for integrated information in support of integrated policies in the follow-up to Rio+20 and the Post-2015 Development Agenda through the strengthening of environmental statistics and indicators.

Key elements of the workshop will include: in-depth presentation on and discussion about the FDES 2013, including its components, sub-components, topics and Basic/Core Sets of Environment Statistics; application of the Environment Statistics Self-Assessment Tool (ESSAT); definition of key concepts and terminology in the field of environment statistics; use of various data sources such as geospatial information systems, remote sensing, scientific research, administrative data; and introduction to the planned Methodological Manual for the Basic Set of Environment Statistics.

For more information: The Environment Statistics Section

Within the framework of the Development Account Project on “Strengthening Capacities of the Public Sector in Least Developed Countries to Deliver Quality Services Equitably through the Transfer and Adaptation of Innovative Practices”, UN DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) is organizing a second study visit in order to expose the interested participants from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to Bahrain’s National E-Government Programme.

The main purpose of the study tour, that will take place from 24 to 29 January 2015 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, is to support the adaptation and implementation of e-government practices in LDCs through an in-depth practical and hands-on learning experience.

During the study tour, participants will be familiarized with the entire E-Government strategy and programme of Bahrain, and a special effort will be made to address specific interest of those LDCs which are particularly interested in some modules, including e-procurement, payroll administration, health or education services.

For more information:

UN DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM)

UN DESA’s Statistics Division is organizing a regional workshop within the UN Development Account project “Supporting Developing Countries Measure Progress Towards Achieving a Green Economy” in Bangkok, Thailand on 20-23 January. The project is led by the division in collaboration with UNEP, UNIDO, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). 

A similar workshop has taken place in December 2014 for the Latin American and Caribbean region and the new workshop will be based on experienced gained therein.

Recognising the importance of high quality statistics and their effective use in promoting evidence-based socio-economic policies and achieving internationally agreed goals, the project aims to enhance the national statistical systems’ capacity in selected pilot countries. This is expected to lead to the production of good quality, timely and reliable statistics and indicators to inform about progress towards achieving a green economy in the context of sustainable development.

The workshop will serve as an opportunity to strengthen national data production and coordinate efforts for improving underlying environment, energy, agricultural and other statistics in the region. It will bring together statisticians and policy makers that use and produce such indicators. Moreover, the workshop is important given the current policy context and the emergence of the sustainable development goals in the context of the post 2015 development agenda, as well as national efforts to move towards sustainable development around the world.

Key elements of the workshop include: a review of potential indicators, suitable for developing countries, that can be used to inform on green economy and sustainable development issues; the sharing of experiences from the assessment exercise in the four pilot countries of the region; and a more detailed discussion of technical issues in selected areas of statistics that are relevant for the compilation of indicators informing on green economy issues. The workshop will be followed by direct technical assistance to the pilot countries in the next phase of this project.

For more information:

Supporting Developing Countries Measure Progress Towards Achieving a Green Economy