37 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 37 that major rivers deliver to the nation’s coastal waters, soil nutrient depletion and cropland erosion); iii. Statistics on biological components, which provide information on the diversity and conditions of plants, animals and living habitats (e.g., number of known spe cies or species at risk of extinction); and iv. Statistics on ecosystem goods and services, which describe the flows that humanity derives from ecosystems (e.g., amount of timber harvested).33 Statistics describing the extent, the chemical and physical characteristics and the bio logical components (biodiversity) of the ecosystems are included in this topic. Statistics describing the goods and services provided by ecosystems are included in Component 2 (Environmental Resources and their Use) and Component 3 (Residuals). 3.35. Statistics on biodiversity include statistics on the diversity of flora and fauna species (the plant and animal life of a particular region or time, generally regarded as that which is naturally occurring and indigenous). Biota is defined as all animal and plant life of a particular region or time. Biotic (living) factors function with the abiotic (non-living) factors to form a complex unit such as an ecosystem. Typical themes include the number and population trends of known species of flora and fauna (terrestrial, freshwater and marine) and their vulnerability status category. 3.36. Human activities affect flora, fauna and biodiversity both directly and indirectly, result ing in changes that are reflected by statistics on the status of flora and fauna species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species categories and criteria 34 is based on the threat level. The main categories are extinct, extinct in the wild, threatened (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable), near threatened and least concern. 3.37. Data on species populations are usually available on species of specific significance. Data are often obtained from expert and ad hoc scientific studies and assessments, as well as research conducted by NGOs and civil society. This can result in scattered and non-systematized data. When available and appropriate, displaying information through GIS can also be particularly useful. 3.38. Statistics on protected areas include physical and descriptive information and statistics on protected terrestrial and marine areas within the country. The IUCN Protected Area Man agement Categories 35 are based on the strictness of protection and serve as the classification for protected areas. The main categories are strict nature reserve, wilderness area, national park, natural monument or feature, habitat/species management area, protected landscape/seascape, and protected area with sustainable use of natural resources. 3.39. The administrative and legal measures taken to protect a species also reflect its vulner ability at the national or local level. Statistics on protected species are thus also relevant for this topic. Administrative records are the main source of data on protected areas and species. Data may also be found in secondary databases and reports on the status of ecosystems or the state of the environment. They usually fall under the responsibility of environmental authorities and are frequently produced for the national and subnational levels. 3.40. Although information on ecosystems and biodiversity is well developed and increas ingly available from ecosystem science and other disciplines, it is not used frequently or sys tematically in the production of statistics. Developing meaningful statistics on ecosystems and biodiversity requires the collaboration of scientists and statisticians. Ongoing work on the SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting, among other efforts, will improve this situation in the future. 33 H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment. The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems 2008: Measuring the Lands, Waters, and Living Resources of the United States, (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2008). 34 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Species Survival Commission (2010). Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels (Version 4.0), available from http:// s3.amazonaws.com /iucnredlist-newcms/staging /public/attachments/3101 /reg_guidelines_en.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017). 35 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. IUCN Protected Areas Categories System, available from www.iucn.org /theme/protected-areas/about /categories (accessed 4 August 2017).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013)38
Table 3.1.2.2
Statistics and related information for Topic 1.2.2
Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality
Subcomponent 1.2: Land Cover, Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Topic 1.2.2: Ecosystems and biodiversity
Statistics and related information
Category of
measurement
Potential aggregations
and scales Methodological guidance
(Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1 ; regular text—Tier 2;
italicized text—Tier 3)
a. General ecosystem characteristics, extent
and pattern
• By location
• By ecosystem (e.g., forest,
cultivated, dryland, coastal,
marine, urban, polar, inland
water, island, mountain)b
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Standard Statistical Classification of Flora, Fauna
and Biotopes (1996)
• Convention on Wetlands of International
Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat
(the Ramsar Convention)
1. Area of ecosystems Area
2. Proximity of ecosystem to urban areas and
cropland
Distance
b. Ecosystems’ chemical and physical
characteristics
1. Nutrients Concentration
2. Carbon Concentration
3. Pollutants Concentration
c. Biodiversity • By ecosystem (e.g., forest,
cultivated, dryland, coastal,
marine, urban, polar, inland
water, island, mountain)b
• By status category (e.g.,
extinct, extinct in the wild,
threatened, near threatened,
least concern)
• By class (e.g., mammals, fishes,
birds, reptiles)
• National
• Subnational
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• CBD
• International Union for Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of
Threatened Species
• UNECE Standard Statistical Classification of Flora,
Fauna and Biotopes (1996)
• FAO FISHSTAT (Species population and number
of invasive alien species)
1. Known flora and fauna species Number
2. Endemic flora and fauna species Number
3. Invasive alien flora and fauna species Number
4. Species population Number
5. Habitat fragmentation Area, description,
location, number
d. Protected areas and species • By location
• By management categoryc
• By ecosystem (e.g., forest,
cultivated, dryland, coastal,
marine, urban, polar, inland
water, island, mountain)b
• National
• Subnational
• IUCN Protected Area Management Categories
• UNSD: Millennium Development Goal (MDG)
Indicator 7.6 Metadata
- Protected terrestrial and marine area (also in 1.2.3.a) Number, area
- Protected flora and fauna species Number • By species • By ecosystem (e.g., forest, cultivated, dryland, coastal, marine, urban, polar, inland water, island, mountain)b • By status category • National • Subnational • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species • UNSD: MDG Indicator 7.7 Metadata b Reporting categories used in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf ) c IUCN reporting categories: strict nature reserves, wilderness areas, national parks, natural monuments or features, habitat/species management areas, protected landscapes/seascapes and protected areas with sustainable use of natural resources (www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/about/categories) 39 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 39 Topic 1.2.3: Forests 3.41. Forests provide livelihoods for millions of people around the world. They offer timber, food, shelter, fuel and medicinal products, and also perform significant ecosystem functions such as hydrological regulation, soil protection and biodiversity protection, and act as carbon sinks. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the extent and characteristics of forests and to produce statistics about their diverse dimensions. The importance of forests is reflected in the MDGs (Indicator 7.1 Proportion of land area covered by forest). 3.42. Forest is defined by FAO as land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of more than 10 per cent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use. Complementarily, FAO defines other wooded land as land not classified as “Forest”, spanning more than 0.5 hectares; with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of 5 to 10 per cent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; or with a combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees above 10 per cent. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.36 3.43. The most important statistics in this topic include forest area, which can be disaggre gated by forest type (e.g., primary forest, other naturally generated forest and planted forest). Forest area can also be shown based on dominant tree species, age distribution, productivity, primary use of forest, areas under sustainable forest management and protected forests. Fur ther statistics may include forest biomass and its carbon storage, and a characterization of forest ecosystems that exist in the country, including types, location, area and main species of flora and fauna living in the forest. Statistics on the forest area affected by fire may also be included. (See also Topic 1.2.2: Ecosystems and biodiversity.) 3.44. Data on forest area and its biophysical characteristics may be obtained from remote sensing, field surveys, forest inventories and forestry statistics from forest management agen cies (e.g., agricultural and forestry authorities). 3.45. Statistics on changes in forest area due to economic activities and natural processes, and on timber and other forest resources and their use, are contained in Component 2: Envi ronmental Resources and their Use. Table 3.1.2.3 Statistics and related information for Topic 1.2.3 Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality Subcomponent 1.2: Land Cover, Ecosystems and Biodiversity Topic 1.2.3: Forests Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Forest area •• By forest type •• National •• Subnational •• By dominant tree species •• By ownership category •• FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) •• UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) •• UNSD: MDG Indicator 7.1 Metadata •• Montreal Process (Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests) •• State of Europe’s Forests (Forest Europe/UNECE-FAO Forestry and Timber Section)
- Total Area
- Natural Area
- Planted Area
- Protected forest area (also in 1.2.2.d) Area
- Forest area affected by fire Area b. Forest biomass
- Total Volume
- Carbon storage in living forest biomass Mass 36 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2010). Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 Main Report, available from www.fao .org/docrep/013/i1757e/i1757e .pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 40 Subcomponent 1.3: Environmental Quality 3.46. This subcomponent organizes statistics on the concentration of pollutants in the air, freshwater and marine water, and on soil pollution and noise levels. Measurements of con centrations of substances in the environmental media reflect the combined and cumulative impact of human and natural processes. This pollution impacts both the human subsystem and ecosystems. 3.47. Policymakers, analysts and civil society require statistics on environmental quality to monitor and make evidence-based policies to maintain and improve environmental quality globally and in each country. Pollutant concentration statistics provide information on the quality of environmental media. The importance of pollutants may vary when considering the quality of the ecosystem or the health and well-being of humans and other living beings. 3.48. The spatial implications of pollutant concentration statistics are particularly important because of the fluidity of the environmental media (e.g., freshwater, marine water and air). Spa tial information on impacts on ecosystems near a pollution source is particularly important. Air and water transport pollutants from one medium to another and from one geographic area to another. Transforming measurements of pollutants into statistics can be laborious because of spatial and temporal considerations. This underscores the need for collaboration between statistical offices and environmental agencies on the design (sampling pattern) of monitoring networks. 3.49. When national or local maximum allowable levels of pollutants exist in countries, these values should be compared with the actual measured pollutant levels. Statistics on frequency of occurrences or per cent of pollution events above maximum allowable levels are usually more important measures of environmental quality than national aggregates or averages. The number and area of locations where maximum allowable levels are exceeded can, however, be important at the national level. 3.50. Statistics on concentrations of pollutants are usually organized according to environ mental media such as air, water and soil. Depending on the situation, countries monitor the concentrations of the most relevant pollutants for which statistical series can be produced. 3.51. It should be noted that the emissions of these pollutants are not included here but, rather, in Component 3: Residuals and are linked to the activities and processes that generate, manage and, finally, discharge them to the environment. Topic 1.3.1: Air quality 3.52. This topic includes statistics on the ambient concentration of the most important air pollutants, including suspended solid particles, gases and other relevant pollutants that can have a negative effect on human and ecosystem health. 3.53. Air quality is measured at monitoring stations. Data availability varies according to the country’s circumstances. Where monitoring programmes and stations exist, the data produced require further processing for transformation into environment statistics. Based on their loca tion and purpose, monitoring stations may be impact, regional or background stations. Impact stations are situated near major sources of pollution and measure the direct impact on local air quality. Regional stations are not affected directly by pollution sources. They measure how the pollution is transported and changes through space and time. Background stations are usually located in places that are not directly affected by human activities and provide data on natural conditions. Changes in background concentrations are usually slow and reflect the combined impact of human and natural processes. The UNECE Standard Statistical Classification of Ambient Air Quality (1990) lists the most important substances, parameters and variables recommended for measurement at impact, regional and background monitoring stations (see