FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS (FDES 2013) FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS (FDES 2013) United Nations United Nations 1. Environmental Conditions and Quality 2. Environmental Resources and their Use 3. Residuals 4. Extreme Events and Disasters 5. Human Settlements and Environmental Health 6. Environmental Protection, Management and Engagement
Framework
for the Development
of Environment Statistics
(FDES 2013)
asdf
United Nations
New York, 2017
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Statistics Division
ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/92
Studies in Methods Series M No. 92
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is a
vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental
spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked
areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social
and environmental data and information on which States Members of the United
Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock of policy options; (ii)
it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies
on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges;
and (iii) it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating
policy frameworks developed in United Nations conferences and summits into
programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build
national capacities.
Notes
The designations used and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of
any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status
of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers
or boundaries.
The term “country” as used in this publication also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas.
The designations “developed regions” and “developing regions” are intended for statistical convenience
and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the
development process.
Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention
of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document.
United Nations Publication
ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/92
Sales No.: 14.XVII.9
ISBN: 978-92-1-161582-1
eISBN: 978-92-1-056489-2
Copyright © 2017
United Nations
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iii
Preface
This publication presents the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES
2013), which is the revised version of the original FDES published in 1984 by the United Nations
Statistics Division (UNSD). The United Nations Statistical Commission, at its forty-first ses -
sion (23-26 February 2010), endorsed a work programme and the establishment of an Expert
Group for the revision of the FDES and the development of a Core Set of Environment Statis-
tics, taking into account the scientific, political, technological, statistical and experience-based
developments of recent decades.
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20, June 2012)
outcome document, “The Future We Want”, 1 includes several references to the importance
of environmental data, information and indicators. The FDES 2013 is expected to contribute
significantly to improved monitoring and measurement of the environmental dimension
of sustainable development and the post-2015 development agenda. The use of the FDES
2013 in national statistical systems will enhance developments in this field of statistics, as
it is a multipurpose and flexible tool that can be tailored to address specific environmental
policy concerns and priorities of countries, and can accommodate their levels of statistical
development.
The FDES 2013 covers issues and aspects of the environment that are relevant for analy-
sis, policy- and decision-making. It is designed to assist all countries in the formulation of
environment statistics programmes by (i) delineating the scope of environment statistics and
identifying its constituents; (ii) contributing to the assessment of data requirements, sources,
availability and gaps; (iii) guiding the development of multipurpose data collection processes
and databases; and (iv) assisting in the coordination and organization of environment statistics,
given the inter-institutional nature of the domain.
The revision of the FDES was undertaken as part of UNSD’s work programme on envi-
ronment statistics. The Expert Group on the Revision of the FDES assisted UNSD in imple -
menting the revision process. The United Nations Statistical Commission at its forty-fourth
session (28 February-1 March 2013) endorsed the FDES 2013 as the framework for strengthen-
ing environment statistics programmes in countries, and recognized it as a useful tool in the
context of sustainable development goals and the post-2015 development agenda.
1 United Nations (2012). Rio+20
outcome document, “The Future
We Want”, available from https://
sustainabledevelopment.un.org
/futurewewant.html (accessed
4 August 2017).
v
Acknowledgements
The revised Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) consoli-
dates the experience of countries and international organizations in the field of environment
statistics. It has been developed in close collaboration with the Expert Group on the Revision
of the FDES, which reviewed successive drafts of the FDES 2013 and commented on the issue
papers drafted by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), other experts who provided
advice on specific subjects, as well as countries and organizations that took part in the Pilot
Test of the Core Set of Environment Statistics and responded to the Global Consultation of
the final draft of the FDES 2013. The revision was a complex process that entailed organizing
the substantive contributions and participation of experts, countries and organizations from
around the world at different stages of the process over a three-year period.
The Expert Group on the Revision of the FDES contributed valuable input through -
out the process and, in particular, during the expert group meetings. It collaborated in the
drafting process and revised various versions of the chapter and document drafts. Members
of the Expert Group from national statistical offices and environmental ministries/agencies
included Gemma Van Halderen, Michael Vardon and Mark Lound (Australia); Michael Nagy
(formerly Austria, currently Qatar); Abul Kalam Azad (Bangladesh); Edgar Ek (Belize); Dit -
shupo Gaobotse (Botswana); Ricardo Moraes and Wadih Neto (Brazil); Carolyn Cahill, Andrew
Ferguson and Robert Smith (Canada); Yixuan Wang (China); Iva Ritchelova (Czech Republic)
who acted as Chair of the Expert Group; Kaia Oras (Estonia); Leo Kolttola (Finland); Fanta
Kaba (Guinea); Sekhar Jeyalakshmi (India); Wynandin Imawan (Indonesia); Cesare Costan -
tino (Italy); Janet Geoghagen-Martin (Jamaica); Soh Wah Lim (Malaysia); Chitranjan Ramnath
and Anand Sookun (Mauritius); Jesús Romo-García and Adriana Oropeza-Lliteras (Mexico);
Hendrik Jan Dijkerman (Netherlands); Philip Olatunde Bankole (Nigeria); Torstein Arne Bye
and Svein Homstvedt (Norway); Raymundo Talento (Philippines); Kok Chew Cheang (Singa-
pore); Andreas Talea (Suriname); Khamis Raddad (United Arab Emirates); Richard Guldin
and William Sonntag (United States). Members from international organizations included:
Jochen Jesinghaus (European Commission); Jean-Louis Weber (European Environment Agency
(EEA)); Christian Heidorn (Statistical Office of the European Union—Eurostat), Rolf Luyendijk
(United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)); Ashbindu Singh (United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)); Robert Mayo, Mike Robson and Carola Fabi (Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO)); Matthias Bruckner (United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA); Kristina Taboulchanas (United Nations Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)); Peter Harper (Chair of the
UN Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA)). Experts from
non-governmental organizations included: Marc Levy (Center for International Earth Science
Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University); Robin O’Malley (Heinz Center for Sci-
ence, Economics and Environment); and Christian Layke (World Resources Institute (WRI)).
The following experts provided additional feedback on the drafts of the FDES 2013:
Sarah Kabaija (Uganda); Ole Gravgard Pedersen and Thomas Olsen (Denmark); Julie Hass
(Norway), who also provided indispensable editorial help; Viveka Palm (Sweden); Sachiko Tsuji
(FAO); Jaap van Woerden (UNEP); and Carl Obst (Editor of the System of Environmental-
Economic Accounting (SEEA)).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013)vi
It is also important to acknowledge the valuable contribution of countries and experts
that participated in the Pilot Exercise carried out towards the final stage of the revision (August-
September 2012) to refine the Core Set of Environment Statistics. Both developed and develop-
ing countries from all regions participated in the Pilot Exercise. In all, 25 countries and two
international organizations took part in the Pilot, including 20 developing countries (Belize,
Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Jamaica,
Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Qatar, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, Viet Nam and United
Arab Emirates), five developed countries (Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, United States)
and two international organizations (Eurostat and UNEP).
The FDES revision also benefited greatly from comments, suggestions and substantive
input from the 76 countries, areas and institutions that responded to the Global Consulta -
tion (September-November 2012) on the final draft of the FDES 2013. The following countries
responded: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana; Bra-
zil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Cabo Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Croa -
tia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Gambia (the), Georgia, Hong
Kong-SAR of China, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan,
Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macao-SAR of China, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico,
Montenegro, Myanmar, New Zealand, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Palestine, Philippines,
Poland, Qatar, Republic of Belarus, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slo -
venia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname,
Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and
Viet Nam. Participating institutions included UNECLAC, the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (UNESCAP), Eurostat and the Environmental-Economic Accounting Section of UNSD.
Special acknowledgment goes to Jock Martin, Cathy Maguire, Jan-Erik Petersen, Rob-
erta Pignatelli and Sheila Cryan of the EEA for reviewing the final draft of the FDES.
Finally, it is important to recognize the substantive contributions drawn from the work
of the many countries’ experts who consulted with their colleagues in national agencies on
different aspects of the FDES revision and organized meetings and workshops to discuss the
FDES, and in particular the Core Set of Environment Statistics, during the Pilot and Global
Consultation stages.
The publication was prepared under the responsibility of UNSD. The UNSD staff of
the Environment Statistics Section who led the revision process include Eszter Horvath, Reena
Shah, Rayén Quiroga-Martínez, Karen Cassamajor, Marcus Newbury and Robin Carrington.
Acknowledgment is also due to former staff of the Environment Statistics Section who contrib-
uted to the revision of the FDES: Daniel Clarke, David Kuczenski, Branko Milicevic, Yongyi
Min and Jeremy Webb. Administrative support was provided by Evelyne Michaud.
A number of UNSD staff also contributed valuable comments and suggestions on the
chapter drafts, including Ivo Havinga, Magdolna Csizmadia (Economic Statistics), Alessandra
Alfieri, Ricardo Martínez-Lagunes and Sokol Vako (Environmental-Economic Accounts).
The following former interns in the Environment Statistics Section also contributed
to the work on the revision and finalization of the FDES: Cristina Sendra Diaz, Elena Montes,
Germana Borsetta, Harshini Samarakoon, Iliana Cárdenes, John Simmons, Praem Mehta,
Rong Liu, Serap Cevirgen, Siyu Chen, Xiang Xu, Xiaoxin Xie and Zubaida Choudhury.
Last, acknowledgement is due to the national statistical offices, environmental
ministries/agencies and international agencies that provided resources and experts, and
allocated time to this collective effort.
vii
List of acronyms and abbreviations
AEI
agri-environmental indicator
BIP
Biodiversity Indicators Partnership
BOD
biochemical oxygen demand
CBD
Convention on Biological Diversity
CEA
Classification of Environmental Activities
CEPA
Classification of Environmental Protection Activities
CES
Conference of European Statisticians
CICES
Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services
CIESIN
Center for International Earth Science Information Network
CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CMS
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
COD
chemical oxygen demand
COP
Conference of the Parties
CPC
Central Product Classification
CRED EM-DAT
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Emergency Events Database
CSD
Commission on Sustainable Development
DALY
disability-adjusted life year
DDT
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
DPSIR
Driving force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework
DSR
Driving force-State-Response framework
ECOWAS
Economic Community of West African States
EEA
European Environment Agency
EEZ
exclusive economic zone
EGSS
Environmental Goods and Services Sector
EMEP
European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme
ESM
environmentally sound management
FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FDES
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics
FRA
Forest Resources Assessment
GEO
Global Environment Outlook