175
Developments since 1984
175
Conceptual approaches to structuring environment statistics
B.24. Two conceptual approaches that show potential for organizing environment statistics and
may go beyond a purely academic exercise are the natural capital and the ecosystem approaches.
In different contexts and for distinct purposes, they have become essential for understanding
interrelationships within the environment at highly complex levels. A short discussion follows
of the basic principles of each of these two well-established lines of reasoning.
Natural capital approach
B.25. The natural capital approach has been defined as a means to identify and quantify the
natural environment and associated ecosystem services, leading to better decision-making
for managing, preserving and restoring natural environments. Capital theory has played a
large part in economic development theories. Society’s total capital base comprises natural,
economic, human and social capital. Natural capital, in the form of land, has been included
as one of the factors of production from the birth of economic thought. Natural capital can be
divided into three principal categories: natural resource stocks, land and ecosystems. Natural
capital provides goods and essential functions to the economy, as well as services to humans
and other living beings.
B.26. Natural capital performs four types of basic functions:
i. Provision of raw materials for production and consumption;
ii. Assimilation of the waste products of production and consumption;
iii. Provision of amenity services (cultural services); and
iv. Provision of basic life support functions on which human life depends.134
B.27.
This approach incorporates the stock concept of natural capital, as well as a flow concept
of provision of services. Long-term economic development and sustainability depend on both
of these factors, which are critical to the survival of humankind and other species.
B.28. Various methods of measuring natural capital have been performed. Notably, the
World Bank made significant progress on measuring the real wealth and genuine savings of
nations. The SEEA-CF may also be used to measure natural capital and its use in physical and
monetary terms.
B.29.
In addition, a joint UNECE/Eurostat/OECD Working Group on Statistics on Sustain
able Development 135 reached a common understanding on the principles of measuring sus
tainability and began working to develop a small core set of indicators. The outcome is pre
sented in the publication, Measuring Sustainable Development.136 To follow up on this work,
a Joint UNECE/Eurostat/OECD Task Force on Measuring Sustainable Development (TFSD)
was created, implicitly linked to and inspired by other initiatives such as “GDP and Beyond” 137
(European Commission), “Better Life Initiative: Measuring Well-being and Progress” (OECD)
and the Sponsorship Group on “Measuring Progress, Well-being and Sustainable Develop
ment” 138 (European Statistical System).
B.30. The Task Force published a report in 2014 139 presenting the recommendations of the
CES on measuring sustainable development. The publication conveyed key messages about
measuring sustainable development, the need for harmonization, and proposed a procedure
to select potential indicators on transboundary impacts. It included a measurement framework
intended to link the SDI sets currently produced by national and international statistical organ
izations, and provided a basis for formulating a list of potential indicators. Three conceptual
dimensions and 20 themes were distinguished covering environmental, social and economic
aspects of sustainable development. Based on the measurement framework, a methodology to
derive three indicator sets was proposed: a large set of 60 indicators selected on a conceptual
134 Dietz, Simon and Neumayer,
Eric (2007). “Weak and strong
sustainability in the SEEA:
concepts and measurement”,
Ecological Economics, 61 (4)”,
pp. 617-626, available from
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/3058/1
/Weak_and_strong
_sustainability_in_the
SEEA%28LSERO%29.pdf
(accessed 4 August 2017).
135 United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (2014).
Statistics on Sustainable
Development, available from
www.unece.org/stats
/sustainable-development.html
(accessed 4 August 2017).
136 United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe/
Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development/
Eurostat (2009). Measuring
Sustainable Development,
available from www.unece.org
/fileadmin/DAM/stats
/publications/Measuring
_sustainable_development.pdf
(accessed 4 August 2017).
137 Commission of the European
Communities (2009), “GDP and
Beyond”, available from
http://eur-lex.europa
.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ
.do?uri=COM:2009:0433:FIN:EN:
PDF (accessed 4 August 2017).
138 European Statistical System
(2011), “Measuring Progress,
Well-being and Sustainable
Development”, available from
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
/documents/42577/43503/SpG
-Final-report-Progress
-wellbeing-and-sustainable
-deve (accessed 4 August 2017).
139 United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (2014).
“Conference of European
Statisticians Recommendations
on Measuring Sustainable
Development”, available from
www.unece.org/fileadmin
/DAM/stats/publications/2013
/CES_SD_web.pdf (accessed
4 August 2017).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 176 basis; a large set of 90 indicators selected on a thematic basis including more detailed policy rel evant indicators; and a small set of 24 potential indicators to communicate the main messages more efficiently to policymakers and the general public. Although the proposed sustainability themes are considered universal, country-specific indicators may be selected. An important conclusion in the report was that SDI sets should reflect the transboundary impacts of sustain able development by highlighting how a country, in the pursuit of the well-being of its citizens, may affect the well-being of citizens of other countries. B.31. The natural capital approach may be applied to different levels. Fundamental concepts such as strong and weak sustainability are based on the assessment of stocks and flows of dif ferent types of capital in any given territory, but methodological difficulties in measuring the components of natural capital and its services can explain the slow progress in this regard. The natural capital approach is a strong foundation for structuring physical data without the need for monetary valuation, particularly to produce data about stocks and flows. Statistical production based on monetary value appears to be scarce today. Given incomplete scientific knowledge of many ecosystem dynamics and the effect of the permanent interrelations between nature and human activity, additional methodological problems arise from the choice of vari ables to be integrated into the stocks and services from nature. B.32. Statistical frameworks that make it possible to monitor the amount and quality of natural assets (despite limitations relating to measurement) are therefore an invaluable tool for assessing and assigning relative importance to society’s natural capital base. This is a long- standing need among natural resource intensive–countries. The ecosystem approach B.33. The ecosystem approach was originally conceived as the strategic concept for the inte grated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sus tainable use in an equitable way,140 as opposed to per individual parts of the systems. As a more holistic approach, where parts interacting together constantly modify everything else, the ecosystem view considers spatially defined units (such as basins, forest, marine and dryland) in an integrated fashion at the local, national or global levels, applying appropriate scientific methodologies. B.34. The ecosystem approach has been used primarily for integrated natural resources management (including forests and river basins) and, more recently, for integrated assessment purposes. B.35. The assessment perspective has been implemented in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment that the United Nations called for in 2001. The Millennium Ecosystem Assess ment 141 uses an innovative framework that considers both the ecosystem and its services (provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural). It reports on the status of 24 services, categorizing those that are in debt, identifying the stocks that are running short and where the fabric of life is deteriorating. B.36. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment did not present a matrix for organizing its findings, but used 10 ecosystem categories and subcategories to report the findings on different aspects and with distinct emphases. These reporting categories include a number of ecosys tems. They are not mutually exclusive, as their areas can and do overlap. Ecosystems within each reporting category 142 share a suite of biological, climatic and social factors that tend to differ across categories. Within each category of ecosystems, an exhaustive global assessment is presented, which includes ecosystem quality, changes in the ecosystem services produced and ecosystem trends. These reporting categories created by the Millennium Ecosystem Assess ment, as well as its conceptual understanding of the relations between people and ecosys 140 Convention on Biological Diversity. COP 5 Decision V/6, paragraph A.1, available from www.cbd.int/decision/cop /?id=7148 (accessed 4 August 2017). 141 The objective of this assessment was to provide a clear, scientific picture of the current state of the Earth’s ecosystems at multiple scales, deepening understanding of the relationship and linkages between ecosystems and human well-being, including economic, social and cultural aspirations (see Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis, Washington, D.C., Island Press, available from www .millenniumassessment.org /documents/document.356.aspx .pdf (accessed 4 August 2017). 142 Ibid.
177 Developments since 1984 177 tems,143 showed potential first as a possible structuring set of ecosystem types and, finally, as a rich conceptual construct underpinning the structure of the FDES 2013. B.37. As a conceptual construct, this approach sets out to value and recognize ecosystem services that would otherwise not be explicitly acknowledged and accounted for. It is based on the application of appropriate scientific methodologies and focused on levels of biological organization which encompass the essential structure, processes, functions and interactions among organisms and their environment. It recognizes humans, with their cultural diversity, as an integral component of many ecosystems. As such, in principle it is realistic in promoting understanding of the environment and assessing the complex nature of interactions among the different components of the ecosystem. It delineates the environment into spatially recogniz able units that are influenced by associated seasonality and flora, along with physical data such as elevation, humidity and drainage. However, the focus of the ecosystem approach is designed to trigger management interventions, which must invariably be carried out in an economic and political context. Consequently, it has also acquired economic and political significance. B.38. The ecosystem approach is thus an important conceptual framework that can be used in environment statistics to model the structure and contents of the information to be produced by any given country or at any scale, and it contributed to the development of the FDES. B.39. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study was initiated in 2007 and integrates the ecosystems approach and the natural capital concept. Its objectives are to assess the global economic costs of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and recommend solutions for policymakers, administrators, businesses and individuals. As such, it underscored economic and political characteristics. The study revealed that ecosystems are invisible and that losses accruing to them are therefore largely invisible. These losses to the ecosystems are treated as externalities—costs arising from activities that do not accrue to the persons or organizations performing the activities. Over time, these represent a significant diminution of natural capital. According to UNEP these losses “hurt the poor most because their livelihoods and incomes depend most on ecosystem services”.144 B.40. The FDES 2013 draws its conceptual foundation from both the natural capital and the ecosystem approaches, not necessarily as its structural backbone, but as complementary ways of thinking about and designing the content and building blocks of the components, topics and subtopics included in the FDES. Evolution of frameworks for environment statistics and environmental- economic accounting Environment statistics and indicator frameworks B.41. Over the years, growing environmental concerns triggered the development of struc tured frameworks to identify and organize environment statistics that could adequately help the definition and the monitoring of policy goals and targets, and organize information on the environment and its sustainability. Following is a review of the major environment statistics and indicator frameworks relevant to the FDES formulation. The stress-response framework and its derivatives B.42. The stress-response approach was developed in response to the shortcomings of the media approach which described processes of environmental change by disaggregating them into different environmental media (including land, water and air). Seeking to organize environ mental data into a more structured framework, this approach focused on the impacts of human intervention within the environment (stress) and the environment’s subsequent transformation 143 Ibid. 144 United Nations Environment Programme (2010), “Our Planet, September 2010”.