SoE Reporting

environmental applications of the information systems DSS paradigm K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting:

State of the Environment (SoE) reporting describes, analyzes, and presents scientifically based information on environmental conditions, trends, and their significance. It looks at effects of human activities on the environment, as well as their implications for human health, economic well-being, and the state of ecosystems (Environment Canada, 1991) .

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SoE Reporting:

Agenda 21 , and in particular chapter 40 on Information for Decision Making emphasizes the importance of improved availability of information on all aspects of environment and development. It specifically underlines the need for improved presentation of data and information in a format that will facilitate policy and decision making by governments.

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DSS Definition

A DSS is a computer based problem solving system that assists choice between alternatives in complex and controversial domains.

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Decision Making

choice between alternatives implies change and action.

First step: Problem Awareness K.Fedra ‘97

Problem awareness

a known or suspected deviation of the observed state (status-quo) or expected future state (trend) of a system with its desired state.

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Problem awareness

The Limits to Growth (Meadows et al., 1972) Dynamics of Growth in a finite World (1974) 673 pages, graphs, no maps.

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Problem awareness

Basic conclusions of the World models: exponential growth cannot continue for long in a finite system: K.Fedra ‘97

Problem awareness

exponential growth is followed by collapse.

The only question: WHEN ?

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Problem awareness

The Global 2000 Report to the President. Entering the Twenty-First Century (Council of Environmental Quality, 1977. Three Volumes) K.Fedra ‘97

Problem awareness

The Global 2000 Report to the President. Technical Report with model based forecasts, 766 pages, graphs and tables, only a few maps.

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Problem awareness

Global 2000: Major Findings If present trends continue, the world in 2000 will be more crowded, more polluted, less stable ecologically, and more vulnerable to disruption …..

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Problem awareness

Global 2000: Major Findings Serious stresses involving population, resources, and environment are clearly visible ahead.

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Problem awareness

Global 2000: Major Findings Despite greater material output, the world’s population will be poorer in many ways than they are today.

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Problem awareness

Global 2000 does NOT predict.

It depicts conditions likely to develop if there are no changes in public policies, institutions, or rates of technological advance, and if there are no wars or other major disruptions.

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Problem awareness

based on a regular monitoring and assessment of the

State of the Environment

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SoE Reporting

1971 SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, part of ICSU, International Council of Scientific Unions) proposed a

Global Environmental Monitoring System

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SoE Reporting

1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment recommends creation of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), including Earthwatch Programme.

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SoE Reporting

GEMS Global Environment Monitoring System • comprehensive assessment of major environmental issues • provide scientific data needed for rational management of natural resources and the environment • provide early warning of environmental change K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

GEMS Global Environment Monitoring System • harmonisation in data collection • coordination and stimulation of international monitoring • production of periodic assessments of the State of the Environment K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

GEMS Global Environment Monitoring System major themes: • atmosphere, climate, ozone • acid rain (transboundary air pollution) • pollutants in air, water, food • resource management: forests, land, oceans, diversity K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

The World Environment 1972-1992 (over 800 pages) • major environmental issues • sectoral assessment of development • response to environmental change • socio-political, economic, technological developments K.Fedra ‘97

The World Environment 1972-1992

Issues: • atmospheric pollution • ozone depletion • climate change • freshwater • coastal and marine degradation K.Fedra ‘97

The World Environment 1972-1992

Issues: • land degradation • deforestation and habitat loss • biodiversity • environmental hazards • hazardous waste and toxic substances K.Fedra ‘97

The World Environment 1972-1992

Driving forces: • agriculture • fisheries • industry • energy sector • transportation • tourism • population development K.Fedra ‘97

The World Environment 1972-1992

Consequences on: • natural resources • human settlements • human health • peace and security K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Conceptual framework • list of topics or themes (issues) – environmental media – problem areas, policies and objectives – geographical units • measurable properties (indicators) K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Conceptual framework • lists of topics (environmental media, resource categories) • process oriented models (stress - response, feedback) K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Organisational frameworks • issues (environmental problems) • resource sectors (fishery, forestry, mining) • environmental processes (stress - response) • combinations of more than one approach K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

PROCESS ORIENTED: • components of the environment • social and economic activities, natural events • stress and pressure on the environment • impacts of activities and events • responses to environmental impacts K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Component: Land Activity: Land use change Stress: Changes in habitat Impact: Loss of habitat Response: Protection of habitat K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Spatial frameworks • jurisdictional/administrative boundaries • environmental components (watershed) • ecosystems (ecologically related) • combinations of more than one approach K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Issues: • policy oriented • loosely defined topics • not directly measurable K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Indicators: • measurable entities (cardinal, ordinal) • physically based unit of measurement • context and reference point (direction, threshold, targets, objectives) K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Indicators

illustrate

Issues.

Indicators

are derived from

Data Indices

are derived from

Indicators

(no physically interpretable units, ordinal) K.Fedra ‘97

SoE Reporting

Issues, Indicators and Data are hierarchically related.

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SoE Reporting

Data are aggregated into indicators indicators into indices and issues.

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Global SoE Reporting

UNEP Environmental Data Reports text and tables, only a few maps K.Fedra ‘97

Global SoE Reporting

Reports are structured by topics: Environmental Pollution (by media), Climate, Resources, Population, Health, Energy, Industry and Transport, Waste, Disasters, International Cooperation.

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Global SoE Reporting

WRI World Resources Institute: extensive (146) country-level data, few maps.

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Global SoE Reporting

Dimensions of Sustainable Development: • Industrial Countries • Poor Countries • Rapidly Industrialising Countries K.Fedra ‘97

Global SoE Reporting

Data Tables: • Economic indicators • Population • Landcover, settlements • Food and Agriculture • Forest and Rangeland • Wildlife and Habitat • Energy and materials • Freshwater • Oceans and Coasts • Atmosphere, climate • Policies and institutions K.Fedra ‘97

Global SoE Reporting

The third OECD report on the state of the environment (OECD 1991) following previous reports in 1979 and 1985, was aiming to • assist member countries in the definition, implementation, and evaluation of environmental policies; • helping them to incorporate environmental concerns into economic decision making in order to progress towards sustainable development; • providing environmental information to the public.

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Global SoE Reporting

OECD Environmental Indicators: • Group of Seven Economic Summit (1989) called for new environmental indicators capable of becoming as well established as today's ubiquitous national economic indicators.

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OECD SoE Reporting

• CO 2 Emission • Greenhouse Gas Emissions • SO 2 • NO 2 Emissions Emissions • Use of water resources • River water quality • Waste water treatment • Landuse change • Protected areas • Use of N fertilisers • Use of forest resources • Trade in tropical wood • Threatened species • Fish catches • Waste generation • Municipal waste • Industrial accidents • Public opinion • Growth of economic activity • Energy intensity • Energy supply • Industrial production • Transportation trends • Private final consumption • Population K.Fedra ‘97

European Commission

• From 1985 to 1990, The European Commission has realized the CORINE Programme (Coordination of Information on the Environment): An Information System on the state of the Environment in the European Community (the CORINE system).

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European Commission

European Environment Agency EEA (Council Regulation 1210/90,OJ L 120 of 11.05.1990) maintains and extends the three main CORINE GIS-based inventories (Biotopes, Corinair, and Land Cover) to the Central and Eastern European Countries.

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Regional SoE Reporting

Europe’s first comprehensive SoE Report was prepared in 1995 by the EEA with UNECE, UNEP, OECD, Council of Europe, IUCN, WHO, EUROSTAT.

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Regional SoE Reporting

the Dobris Assessment covers 676 pages, and includes 40 chapters and 2 Appendices with a list of 56 major environmental problems. It uses thematic maps extensively.

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Regional SoE Reporting

The reports uses extensive imagery, text and tabular data, and a range of topical maps of various styles, together with statistics and business graphics.

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Regional SoE Reporting

using symbols associated with countries rather than spatial interpolation depends both on the spatial resolution of the data as well as on their inter pretation.

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Regional SoE Reporting

combining business graphics with tabular data and topical maps provides multiple styles of representation for the same data set.

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Regional SoE Reporting

ESCAP ( UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) 352 pages, extensive imagery, graphs, but very few maps.

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Regional SoE Reporting

Report organisation Environmental Conditions: • Land • Inland Waters • Marine Environment • Urban Environment • Rural Environment K.Fedra ‘97

Regional SoE Reporting

Report organisation National and Regional Responses: • Institutions and Legislation • Environmental Education, Communication and Awareness • Environmental Technology • Environmental Planning K.Fedra ‘97

Regional SoE Reporting

Report organisation Policy Context: • Environmental Trends and Projections • Regional Implications of Climate Change and Ozone Layer Depletion • Environmental Challenges of the 1990s K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

Environment Canada published state of the environment reports in 1986 and 1991 as part of Canada's commitment “to secure a safe and healthy environment and a sound and prosperous economy for current and future generations.” K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

The second national SoE report is addressing the question of • what is happening to Canada's environment, • why it is happening, • why it is significant, and • what Canadians are doing about it. K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

Environment Canada seeks “authoritative easy-to-use indicators by which to measure ... environmental performance and progress towards sustainable development”: 43 indicators in 18 issue areas.

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National SoE Reporting

Integrated monitoring: • ecological spatial, process and temporal relationships which exists among individual ecosystem components: (ie., air, water, soil, and biota). K.Fedra ‘97

USA, EMAP

1988 the Science Advisory Board of the USEPA recommended implementing a program within EPA to monitor the status and trends of ecological condition and to develop methods to anticipate emerging environmental problems before they become crises.

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USA, EMAP

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program ( EMAP ) adopted a stress-response approach based on environmental indicators.

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USA, EMAP

Objectives: • to estimate current status, extent and trends in indicators of the condition of the nation's ecological resources on a regional basis with known confidence; • to monitor indicators of pollutant exposure and habitat condition and seek associations between human-induced stresses and ecological conditions; K.Fedra ‘97

USA, EMAP

Objectives: • and to provide periodic statistical summaries and interpretive reports on status and trends to the EPA administrator and the public.

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USA, EMAP

Response Indicator: • A characteristic of the environment measured to provide evidence of the biological condition of a resource at the organism, population, community or ecosystem process level of organization.

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USA, EMAP

Exposure and Habitat Indicators: • Diagnostic indicators that are measured in conjunction with response indicators.

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USA, EMAP

Exposure Indicator: • A characteristic of the environment measured to provide evidence of the occurrence or magnitude of a response indicator's contact with a physical, chemical, or biological stress; K.Fedra ‘97

USA, EMAP

Habitat Indicator: • A physical attribute measured to characterize conditions necessary to support an organism, population, or community in the absence of pollutants.

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USA, EMAP

Stressor Indicator: • A characteristic measured to quantify a natural process, and environmental hazard, or a management action that effects changes in exposure and habitat.

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USA, EMAP

Stressor Indicator: • Hazard Indicators : Measures that reflect human activities that unintentionally affect ecological resources (e.g., measures of pollutant release, number of permits issued for construction activity, and rates of application of fertilizers to crops and forests that influence nutrient concentrations in adjacent streams).

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USA, EMAP

Stressor Indicator: • Management Indicators : Measures that reflect human activities that intentionally alter an ecological resource to meet some management objective (eg., stocking fish); K.Fedra ‘97

USA, EMAP

Stressor Indicator: • Natural Process Indicators : Measures that reflect cyclic or acyclic phenomena that affect ecological conditions, regardless of the presence of management actions or environmental hazards (e.g., natural climatic fluctuations or predator-prey cycles, or insect and disease epidemics).

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USA, EMAP

• Response, exposure, and habitat indicators are measured during annual surveys at sampling sites associated with points on the EMAP grid.

• Stressor indicators, by convention in EMAP, are not normally measured at the sampling sites; instead they will be measured in various other ways (eg., fixed site networks, inventory, country-level data) K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

Water quality atlas as part of an Austrian SoE report (1981) K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

air quality map (derived from observations) for a city-level description.

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National SoE Reporting

local forest damage derived from remote sensing.

Austria, 1981 K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

Concern for Tomorrow Dutch National Environmental Survey 1985-2010 by RIVM K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

Dutch report provides a global and continental framework, addresses sustainability at all levels, and includes a section on costs and benefits of environmental measures.

344 pages, numerous maps.

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National SoE Reporting

Report structure: • socio-economic development • global problems • continental problems • fluvial problems (Rhine and Meuse) • regional ecological problems • local ecological problems • area-oriented integration on the regional scale • effects on public health • costs and benefits of environmental measures K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

range of map styles K.Fedra ‘97

National SoE Reporting

New Zealand: Measuring up ( prepared by Statistics New Zealand) - Atmosphere and climate - Energy - Fauna - Freshwater - Human settlements, socio-economics - Land - Marine K.Fedra ‘97