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Indicators - Measuring and Reporting on Progress
There have been significant efforts at the international, regional and national levels to define, develop and use indicators to measure sustainability. Most significant of these was the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development Indicators Programme. As a result of this effort, a broad-based methodology has been developed which can be used by governments to define their own measurement of "development which is sustainable". Within the scope of these developments, efforts have lent themselves to the design of indices, indexes of vulnerability and of sustainability, ecological footprints and other various methodologies for determining what we are doing, how we are doing it and whether the impacts of these actions is positive or negative. Clearly, only by having such information will it be possible to act or react effectively to challenges that arise.
Below are outlined various efforts to develop indicators for sustainable development in general or for specific aspects e.g. sustainable tourism, economic growth, community sustainability. Additionally, efforts to define and agree on indicators for decision-making are also highlighted.
2nd Biennial ISIN Meeting March 13-16, 2003,
Toronto, Canada:
The Indicators to Measure Decoupling of Environmental Pressure From Economic Growth (OECD) have been prepared by the OECD Secretariat in response to the request issued by the OECD Council at Ministerial level (May 2001) that the Organization assist its Member countries in realizing their sustainable development objectives. Inter alia, the Council suggested that the OECD undertake the specific task of developing agreed indicators to measure progress across all three dimensions of sustainable development. This includes indicators that can measure the decoupling of economic growth from environmental degradation and that might be used in conjunction with other indicators in OECD's economic, social, and environmental peer review processes.
The Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives is a worldwide directory of who is doing what in the field of sustainability indicators. Work on an earlier version of the Compendium was carried out with several partners and donors, including the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Environment Canada, Redefining Progress, the World Bank and the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development. In the fall of 2002, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Environment Canada and the International Sustainability Indicators Network (ISIN) initiated an extensive revision to the original Compendium. This included revisions to structure, search capabilities and visual design of the database. The revision also involved updating existing initiatives and adding new entries. http://www.iisd.org/measure/compendium/
The Performance Monitoring Indicators Handbook (1996) discusses how to structure indicators within a logical framework, how performance monitoring indicators are developed in general, how to link them to the objectives of different levels, and how they affect the World Bank’s work. This Second Edition Note is part of a series of notes that are meant to assist World Bank task managers in the selection and design of performance indicators. This note discusses the design and the use of environmental performance indicators (EPIs) to assess and evaluate the performance of World Bank projects in relation to environmental issues.
Calvert - Henderson Quality of Life Indicators. A new tool for Assessing National Trends. An explanation on why and how new indicators of sustainability and quality of life are gaining political traction globally.
Caribbean subregion statistical indicators. This website includes indicators on primary and secondary education, teaching staff in first and second level education, and public expenditure on education. http://www.unesco.org/focus/statcaredu.html
The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production develops, studies, and promotes environmentally sound systems of production, healthy work environments, and economically viable work organizations. Community-developed indicators of Sustainability project can be seen at http://www.uml.edu/centers/LCSP/web_indicators.html
The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) is a center within the Earth Institute at Columbia University. CIESIN, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum's Global Leaders for Tomorrow Environment Task Force, and The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, developed the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI). The ESI is a measure of overall progress towards environmental sustainability, developed for 142 countries. The ESI scores are based upon a set of 20 core "indicators," each of which combines two to eight variables for a total of 68 underlying variables. The ESI permits cross-national comparisons of environmental progress in a systematic and quantitative fashion.
Sustainable Measures develops indicators that measure progress toward a sustainable economy, society and environment. Sustainable Measures works with communities, companies, regional organizations and government agencies at all levels.
Within the work of Sustainable Measures, the
Sustainable Community Indicators Trainer's Workshop was developed with
support of the United States'
EPA's Office of
Sustainable Ecosystems and Communities (OSEC) under a cooperative
agreement with the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of
Massachusetts, Lowell. For more information go to
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is the focal point within the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development and the interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development. It aims at the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy. UNCTAD's Handbook of Statistics On-line is a comprehensive collection of data relevant for the analysis of world trade, investment and development for over 190 countries and territories and 50 economic or trade groups.
The United Nations System-Wide Earthwatch is encourages the development of indicators of environment and sustainable development, as a way to improve the delivery of information for decision-making.
In order to ascertain the magnitude of the existing and potential communications infrastructure gap, Pyramid Research has developed a set of indicators that provide a comparable measure of the communications infrastructure level, investments, revenues and traffic flows in 60 of the major developing and developed country markets of the world. The following is the executive summary discussing the coming Internet revolution, a framework for its analysis, and the impending communications infrastructure gap that emerges and its implications. To view the executive summary click here.
The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility provides strategic scientific and technical advice to the GEF on its strategy and programs. It also maintains a roster of experts who advise on individual projects. STAP has fifteen members who are internationally recognized experts in the GEF’s key focal areas of work: biodiversity, biosafety, climate change, coastal and fresh water management, sustainable land management, persistent organic pollutants, and integrated ecosystem management. To download documents on the STAP/GEF Workshop on The Use of Bioindicators, Biomarkers and Analytical Methods for the Analysis of POPs in Developing Countries click here.
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