45 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 45 Topic 1.3.4: Soil pollution 3.68. Soil pollution is typically caused by chemicals and other residuals disposed of by humans. The most common sources of soil contamination include leakage from underground storage tanks and pipelines, the use of pesticides in agriculture and forestry, the percolation of polluted waters, oil and fuel dumping, direct discharges of wastewater and industrial residuals to the soil, and deposition from air pollution. 3.69. Some of the most commonly measured soil pollutants include petroleum hydrocarbons (e.g., oil residuals and solvents), pesticides and heavy metals. 3.70. Data for soil pollution are produced primarily by monitoring stations and are related to those specific locations. The data from these monitoring stations require further processing to produce environment statistics on the soil quality of specific locations. The resulting environ ment statistics should be produced and be relevant for the specific local areas where the most problematic soil pollution conditions exist. Owing to local variations in soil quality, it will be very difficult to develop figures that are representative at national level. 3.71. Soil pollution directly affects human and environmental health and land productivity based on factors including pollutant concentration, depth of contact with biota and density of humans in polluted areas. However, soil pollution is rarely monitored. It is usually documented and measured after major pollution events that require clean-up or intervention. Thus, the data available for statistical purposes are usually limited and not systematic. 3.72. Statistics on soil pollution also cover statistics on contaminated sites. The term “con taminated site” refers to a well-defined area where the presence of soil pollution has been confirmed, and this presents a potential risk to humans, water, ecosystems or other receptors. The term “potentially contaminated site” refers to sites where unacceptable soil contamina tion is suspected but not verified and detailed investigations need to be carried out to verify whether there is unacceptable risk of adverse impacts on receptors.39 Relevant statistics include the number and area of contaminated, potentially contaminated, remediated and other sites. Table 3.1.3.4 Statistics and related information for Topic 1.3.4 Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality Subcomponent 1.3: Environmental Quality Topic 1.3.4: Soil pollution 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. Sites affected by pollution •• By location •• Subnational •• By type of pollutant •• By source
- Contaminated sites Area, number
- Potentially contaminated sites Area, number
- Remediated sites Area, number
- Other sites Area, number Topic 1.3.5: Noise 3.73. Noise pollution exists not only in the most populated or busiest cities, but also wher ever human activities are conducted, such as adjacent to highways, near airports and marine ports and around manufacturing, metal processing and mining establishments and construc tion sites. Noise pollution negatively affects the welfare and health of humans and also affects ecosystems. 39 European Commission, Joint Research Centre Scientific and Technical Reports (2011). “Soil Protection Activities and Soil Quality Monitoring in South Eastern Europe”, available from http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu /ESDB_Archive/eusoils_docs /other/EUR24889.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 46 3.74. Noise pollution is typically measured using calibrated instruments in specific spatially located stations. This approach is usually used when noise abatement and control policies or programmes are in place. These monitoring stations, operated by the relevant national or local environmental authority, typically produce data that require further processing to be converted into statistics on noise levels attributed to various causes and of specific origin. The resulting statistics, e.g., on noise levels and intensity, are produced for and are relevant to the specific local areas where the most problematic noise pollution conditions exist. They are not repre sentative of the national territory. 3.75. Statistics on noise levels in urban settlements are also relevant to Component 5: Human Settlements and Environmental Health. Table 3.1.3.5 Statistics and related information for Topic 1.3.5 Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality Subcomponent 1.3: Environmental Quality Topic 1.3.5: Noise 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. Noise levels from specific sources Level •• By source •• By location •• Subnational •• WHO b. Noise levels in specific locations Level 3.2. Component 2: Environmental Resources and Their Use 3.76. Component 2 is closely related to the asset and physical flow accounts of the SEEA-CF 40 on which the text, terms and definitions are based, where relevant. Environmental resources (or assets, as they are referred to in the SEEA-CF) are the naturally occurring 41 living and non-living components of the earth, together constituting the biophysical environment, which may provide benefits to humanity. Environmental resources include natural resources, such as subsoil resources (mineral and energy), soil resources, biological resources and water resources, and land. They may be naturally renewable (e.g., fish, timber or water) or non-renewable (e.g., minerals). 3.77. Environmental resources are important inputs in production and consumption. They contribute to providing shelter, food, health care, infrastructure, communications, transporta tion, defence and virtually every other aspect of human activity. Consequently, policymakers need statistics documenting their availability and quality over time to make informed deci sions. Such statistics are also needed to avoid shortage or restriction of use, ensure availability for new and emerging applications, determine import dependence and other risks and, in general, enable continued use over time. Data on the availability of environmental resources and their use are important to ensure sustainable management of current and future use by the human subsystem. 3.78. In Component 2, statistics on environmental resources and their use focus on measur ing stocks and changes in stocks of these resources and their use for production and consump tion. Changes in the stocks of environmental resources include additions and reductions, from both anthropogenic and natural activities. In the case of non-renewable resources, continued extraction usually leads eventually to the depletion of the resource. For renewable resources, if extraction (e.g., abstraction, removal and harvesting) exceeds natural regeneration and human- made replenishment, the resource is depleted. Depletion, in physical terms, is the decrease in the quantity of the stock of a natural resource over an accounting period that is due to the 40 United Nations, European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Bank (2014). System of Environmental- Economic Accounting 2012— Central Framework, available from http://unstats.un.org /unsd/envaccounting/seeaRev /SEEA_CF_Final_en.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017). 41 “Naturally occurring” includes both wild and cultivated biological resources as those which are cultivated, although managed by human intervention, grow as part of a natural process.
47 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 47 extraction of the natural resource by economic units occurring at a level greater than that of regeneration. 3.79. Statistics regarding the most important human activities related to the use of envi ronmental resources help identify the possibilities for policy intervention. The activities that directly extract, abstract, harvest or restructure individual environmental resources are included under Component 2. These activities have additional impacts on the environment beyond the direct use of individual environmental resources. Examples of analyses that bring together all environmental impacts of the individual activities are discussed and presented in Chapter 5. 3.80. Statistics on the generation, management and discharge of residuals related to the use of environmental resources are covered in Component 3: Residuals. 3.81. The use of products originating from environmental resources in the economy and by households can be captured in physical and monetary supply and use tables originating from national accounts and also from sectoral statistics. The SEEA-CF links environmental resources after their extraction from the environment to their use as products in the economy and to the SNA. 3.82. Component 2 contains six subcomponents that correspond to the main categories of environmental resources: i. Subcomponent 2.1: Mineral Resources; ii. Subcomponent 2.2: Energy Resources; iii. Subcomponent 2.3: Land; iv. Subcomponent 2.4: Soil Resources; v. Subcomponent 2.5: Biological Resources; and vi. Subcomponent 2.6: Water Resources. Subcomponent 2.1: Mineral Resources Topic 2.1.1: Stocks and changes of mineral resources 3.83. Minerals are elements or compounds composed of a concentration of naturally occur ring solid, liquid or gaseous materials in or on the earth’s crust. Minerals include metal ores (including precious metals and rare earths); non-metallic minerals such as coal, oil, gas, stone, sand and clay; chemical and fertilizer minerals; salt; and various other minerals such as gem stones, abrasive minerals, graphite, asphalt, natural solid bitumen, quartz and mica. 3.84. Stocks of mineral resources are defined as the amount of known deposits of non-metal lic and metallic mineral resources. Classes of known mineral deposits include commercially recoverable deposits; potential commercially recoverable deposits; and non-commercial and other known deposits. While stocks and changes in the stocks are measured in the same way for all minerals, mineral resources used for the production of energy (e.g., fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas), due to their significance, are discussed in the FDES separately (under Topic 2.2.1: Stocks and changes of energy resources). 3.85. Mineral resources are not renewable so their depletion reduces their availability in the environment over time. The scale of their extraction can determine the amount of stress placed on the environment. Statistics on their stocks are required to assist in the sustainable management of these resources.
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 48 3.86. Mineral resources considered in this subcomponent are extracted from the environ ment typically through mining and quarrying. These activities fall in ISIC Rev. 4 under Section B—Mining and quarrying. Extraction involves methods such as underground or surface min ing. Extraction of mineral resources reflects the quantity of the resource physically removed from the deposit during a period of time (usually one year). The difference between the open ing and closing stocks of mineral resources for a particular year result largely from extraction. However, new discoveries, reappraisals and reclassifications of stocks, as well as catastrophic losses, can also influence the difference between opening and closing stocks. 3.87. Main sources of statistics about stocks of mineral resources are geological surveys and inventories, as well as economic statistics on mining and quarrying. The institutional data collection partners will be the mining authorities at the national and subnational levels. Data are also available from governing commercial bodies such as gemstone and metallic mineral bourses and manufacturers’ associations. Table 3.2.1.1 Statistics and related information for Topic 2.1.1 Component 2: Environmental Resources and their Use Subcomponent 2.1: Mineral Resources Topic 2.1.1: Stocks and changes of mineral resources 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. Mineral resources •• By mineral (e.g., metal ores including precious metals, and rare earths, coal, oil, gas, stone, sand and clay, chemical and fertilizer minerals, salt, gemstones, abrasive minerals, graphite, asphalt, natural solid bitumen, quartz, mica) •• National •• Subnational •• United Nations Framework Classification for Energy and Mineral Resources (UNFC 2009) •• SEEA Central Framework (2012) asset and physical flow accounts •• International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) Rev. 4, Section B, Divisions 05-09
- Stocks of commercially recoverable resources Mass, volume
- New discoveries Mass, volume
- Upward reappraisals Mass, volume
- Upward reclassifications Mass, volume
- Extraction Mass, volume
- Catastrophic losses Mass, volume
- Downward reappraisals Mass, volume
- Downward reclassifications Mass, volume
- Stocks of potentially commercially recoverable resources Mass, volume
- Stocks of non-commercial and other known resources Mass, volume Topic 2.1.2: Production and trade of minerals 3.88. Mining and quarrying contribute substantially to the value of goods and services pro duced by many countries. The outputs are minerals such as metal ores (iron and non-ferrous), stone, sand and clay, chemical and fertilizer minerals, and other minerals such as gemstones and abrasive minerals (classified under Section 1, Divisions 14-16 of the CPC Ver.2). Statistics on the amounts of minerals extracted or produced, and their imports and exports are impor tant to measure the pressure on these resources. They may be linked to economic statistics to understand their significance in the national economy. 3.89. Industrial commodity statistics, sectoral statistics on mining and quarrying, and trade statistics provide statistics about the production and trade of minerals. Activities involved in the production of minerals are captured under the relevant ISIC Rev. 4 categories in Sec tion B—Mining and quarrying. Main partners for primary activity data include the ministry responsible for mining and NSOs. 3.90. Production and trade of minerals that are energy sources are discussed under Topic 2.2.2: Production, trade and consumption of energy.