23Conceptual Foundation and Structure of the FDES 23
1.
Environmental
conditions and
quality
6.
Environmental
Protection,
Management and
Engagement
5.
Human
Settlements and
Environmental
Health
4.
Extreme Events
and Disasters
3.
Residuals
Environmental
Resources
and their Use
2.4. From the conceptual foundation to the FDES
structure—the organization of the contents of the FDES
2.23. Using a multilevel approach, the FDES organizes environment statistics into a structure
composed of components, subcomponents, statistical topics, and individual statistics. The first
level of the structure consists of six fundamental components that follow the FDES conceptual
framework.
2.24. The first component, Environmental Conditions and Quality, brings together statistics
related to the conditions and quality of the natural environment and changes in those condi -
tions and quality. The second component, Environmental Resources and their Use, groups
statistics related to the availability and use of environmental resources (ecosystem provisioning
services, land and subsoil resources). The third component, Residuals, includes statistics related
to the use of regulating services of the environment for the discharge of residuals from pro -
duction and consumption processes. Statistics related to Extreme Events and Disasters (both
natural and technological) and their impacts are covered by the fourth component. The fifth
component brings together statistics related to Human Settlements and Environmental Health.
The sixth component, Environmental Protection, Management and Engagement, groups statis-
tics relevant to societal responses and economic measures aimed at protecting the environment
and managing environmental resources.
2.25. Environmental Conditions and Quality (Component 1) are central to the FDES. The
other five components have been established based on their relationship to the central compo-
nent. As shown in Figure 2.3, all six components are intrinsically related to each other.
2.26. Figure 2.3 shows the six components of the FDES. The dotted lines separating the com-
ponents indicate the continuous interactions among them. These interactions exist between
and among all the components of the FDES. It should be noted that a two-dimensional diagram
provides only a limited visualization of the complex and interrelated nature of the relationships
between humans and the environment.
Figure 2.3
The components of the FDES
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013)
24
2.27.
The FDES uses a multilevel approach. The first level of the structure defines the six
fundamental components. Each individual FDES component is further broken down into its
respective subcomponents (second level) and statistical topics (third level). The statistical topics
represent the measurable aspects of the components of the FDES. The components, subcompo
nents, statistical topics and individual statistics of the FDES define the scope and boundaries of
environment statistics. They provide an organizing structure for synthesizing and presenting
the information in a comprehensive, consistent and coherent manner. Each level uses num
bering conventions as shown below in Table 2.1. The final level contains the actual individual
environment statistics.
Table 2.1
Hierarchical levels of the FDES
One digit
Two digits
Three digits
Four or five digits
Component
Subcomponent
Statistical topic
Statistics
2.28.
The contents of each component of the FDES are organized based on three main factors.
First, the contents are organized in accordance with the conceptual foundation described in
Chapter 2, in which both environmental and human processes and activities modify environ
mental conditions, which in turn affect the human subsystem and trigger responses. Second, as
a statistical tool to be applied by the environmental statistician, the content of the components
of the FDES also considers specific practical concerns, such as the methods of data collection
or compilation and the types and sources of data. Third, analytical consistency within sub
components and between statistical topics is also a key characteristic of the content of each
component.
2.29.
Subcomponents have been selected using a holistic view of the constituent parts of the
component; that is, the subcomponents seek to organize all possible themes that fall under the
component. Statistical topics have been selected to further categorize and group the different
aspects underlying each subcomponent.
2.30.
While the FDES has been designed to be conceptually distinct at the component level,
the contents of each component may overlap in some cases. Hence, the same statistics may often
be used to describe more than one component. Their final assignment within the structure cor
responds to both their most substantive content and nature and to the sources and methods
of statistical production. This optimizes both conceptual and statistical soundness. Therefore,
the breakdown of components into their subcomponents and topics is not intended to be fixed,
mutually exclusive or exhaustive.
2.31.
In line with the need to maintain the framework’s flexibility and applicability, the levels
can be adapted according to each country’s requirements, priorities and circumstances. Some
countries may need more or less detailed information, while others may wish to exclude some
topics.
2.5. Components and subcomponents of the FDES
2.32.
The main structure of the FDES (two-digit level) is presented in the table below.
Chapter 3 provides a detailed description of the relevance and contents of the components,
subcomponents and statistical topics of the FDES, as well as the most common statistics that
are recommended to measure them.
25 Conceptual Foundation and Structure of the FDES 25 Table 2.2 Components and subcomponents of the FDES Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality Subcomponent 1.1: Physical Conditions Subcomponent 1.2: Land Cover, Ecosystems and Biodiversity Subcomponent 1.3: Environmental Quality Component 2: Environmental Resources and their Use Subcomponent 2.1: Mineral Resources Subcomponent 2.2: Energy Resources Subcomponent 2.3: Land Subcomponent 2.4: Soil Resources Subcomponent 2.5: Biological Resources Subcomponent 2.6: Water Resources Component 3: Residuals Subcomponent 3.1: Emissions to Air Subcomponent 3.2: Generation and Management of Wastewater Subcomponent 3.3: Generation and Management of Waste Subcomponent 3.4: Release of Chemical Substances Component 4: Extreme Events and Disasters Subcomponent 4.1: Natural Extreme Events and Disasters Subcomponent 4.2: Technological Disasters Component 5: Human Settlements and Environmental Health Subcomponent 5.1: Human Settlements Subcomponent 5.2: Environmental Health Component 6: Environmental Protection, Management and Engagement Subcomponent 6.1: Environmental Protection and Resource Management Expenditure Subcomponent 6.2: Environmental Governance and Regulation Subcomponent 6.3: Extreme Event Preparedness and Disaster Management Subcomponent 6.4: Environmental Information and Awareness 2.6. Relationship of the FDES with other frameworks 2.33. As a multipurpose statistical tool for the development of environment statistics, the FDES is closely related to and supports other systems and frameworks that are frequently used at the national and international levels. Figure 2.4 provides a simplified illustration of the relationship between environmental data, the FDES, the SEEA and indicator frameworks. The FDES is shown here as a tool to bring together and transform primary statistical and non- statistical data into environment statistics. These environment statistics can then be used to produce statistical series and indicators organized according to different analytical or policy frameworks. They may also be used in combination with economic statistics to produce envi ronmental-economic accounts that link environment statistics with the SNA. Figure 2.4 Relationship of the FDES to other frameworks, systems and indicator sets Indicator Frameworks (environmental and related) and other analytical/monitoring frameworks (DPSIR, MDG, SDG, SDI, issue-based) SEEA (Accounting) FDES (Environment statistics) SNA Related social statistics Environmental data Related economic statistics SEEA = System of Environmental- Economic Accounting SNA = System of National Accounts
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013)26 Relationship between the FDES and the SEEA 2.34. The SEEA-CF describes the interactions between the economy and the environment, and the stocks and changes in stocks of environmental assets. Central to the SEEA-CF is a systems approach to organizing environmental and economic information that covers, as com- pletely as possible, the stocks and flows that are relevant to the analysis of environmental and economic issues. It applies the accounting concepts, structures, rules and principles of the SNA. In practice, environmental-economic accounting includes the physical and monetary statistics for the compilation of supply and use tables, functional accounts (such as the environmental protection expenditure accounts), and asset accounts for natural resources. The United Nations Statistical Commission at its forty-third session in 2012 adopted the SEEA-CF as the initial version of the international standard for environmental-economic accounting. 2.35. The FDES as an organizing framework for environment statistics has a wider scope than that of the SEEA-CF, as Figure 2.5 illustrates. Figure 2.5 The FDES and the SEEA Central Framework 2.36. The SEEA-CF uses many environment statistics by combining them with economic statistics and reorganizing them according to national accounting principles. One of the objec- tives of the FDES as a multipurpose framework is to provide, to the extent possible, the envi - ronment statistics necessary for the development of environmental-economic accounts. As environmental-economic accounting is considered an important user of environment statis - tics, the concepts, terms and definitions used in the FDES and the SEEA were made as consist- ent as possible. 2.37. The statistics included in Component 2: Environmental Resources and their Use and Component 3: Residuals of the FDES are closely related to and support populating both the physical asset accounts and physical flow accounts. Component 6: Environmental Protection, Management and Engagement includes statistics relevant to the functional accounts of the SEEA-CF. 2.38. The SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting is a companion to the SEEA-CF. It extends the accounting to the measurement of flows of services to society that ecosystems provide and to the measurement of ecosystem capital in terms of the capacity and changes in ecosystems’ capacity to provide those services in physical terms. It describes the valuation of ecosystems insofar as it is consistent with the market valuation principles of the SNA. Com - ponent 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality of the FDES includes statistics that can feed into future ecosystem accounts. Environment statistics (FDES) Economic statistics (SNA) Environmental- economic accounting (SEEA) 27 Conceptual Foundation and Structure of the FDES 27 2.39. The SEEA is based on the definitions and classifications applied in the SNA. The con cepts of resident units and centre of economic interest are used to define the boundaries and, therefore, to determine which activities should be included in or excluded from the accounts. An institutional unit is resident within the economic territory of a country when it maintains the centre of economic interest in that territory—that is, when it engages, or intends to engage, in economic activities or transactions usually over at least one year. In the SEEA and in the SNA 2008,24 all economic activities of resident institutional units are included in the accounts irrespective of whether they take place inside or outside the geographic territory of the country. On the other hand, economic activities of non-resident institutional units are not included in the accounts even if they take place within the geographic territory of the country. Using these concepts to define the boundary is different from the standard practice in environment statistics and thus in the FDES. Environment statistics typically uses the territorial principle, by which all relevant activities and environmental impacts within the geographic area of the country are included, irrespective of whether the institutional unit is resident or non-resident. The difference relates mainly to the treatment of international transport and tourism. The FDES and its relationship with the Driving force-Pressure-State- Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework 2.40. The Stress Response Environment Statistics System (S-RESS) framework was developed by Statistics Canada during the 1970s and 1980s and later adapted by the United Nations in the 1984 FDES and by the OECD. The Pressure-State-Response (PSR) and the DPSIR frame works are adaptations of the S-RESS framework and are still in use today in many countries, as well as internationally by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), OECD and the European Environment Agency (EEA) for assessment and reporting purposes and to categorize indicators. 2.41. The DPSIR is an analytical framework that is based on the causal relationship between its D-P-S-I-R components. Driving forces are the socioeconomic and sociocultural forces driv ing human activities, which increase or mitigate pressures on the environment. Pressures are the stresses that human activities place on the environment. State, or state of the environment, is the condition of the environment. Impacts are the effects of environmental degradation. Responses refer to the responses by society to the environmental situation. 2.42. It is often difficult, however, to distinguish human and natural stressors on the envi ronment, and it is even more challenging to link a particular stressor to a specific impact. In the natural world, each process and state influences and is influenced, making it difficult to separate pressure, state and response. Nevertheless, the DPSIR framework facilitates consistent handling of information and avoids gaps in assessment and analysis. As such, it is useful for grouping and reporting existing data and indicators. 2.43. While adopting certain concepts of the DPSIR framework, the FDES does not apply its causal sequence as an organizing principle. However, the statistical topics of the FDES can be rearranged according to the logic of the DPSIR framework. 2.44. Table 2.3 summarizes key attributes of the six components of the FDES. This includes a general description, examples of the types of data that are included in each component, main sources and partners, and conceptual relationships between each component and other systems and frameworks. Geospatial data refer to statistics related to location or boundaries. Physical data refer to a variety of information that is measured in physical units, such as volume and area. Monetary data refer to information described in terms of monetary units, such as govern ment expenditure on environmental protection. Qualitative data refer to descriptions that rely 24 European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations and World Bank (2009). System of National Accounts 2008, available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd /nationalaccount/docs/SNA2008 .pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).