Contents
-
ORGANIZATION OF THE WORKSHOP
- Attendance
- Opening
of the Seminar
- Election
of officers
- Adoption
of the agenda
- Documentation
- Field
visits
-
PREPARATION OF COMPENDIA OF ENVIRONMENT AND
ENVIRONMENT RELATED STATISTICS IN SELECTED
COUNTRIES
-
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE COLLECTION
AND COMPILATION OF ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS
-
OTHER MATTERS
- ADOPTION
OF THE REPORT
I.
ORGANIZATION OF THEWORKSHOP
1. The Seminar on Environment Statistics was
organized by the secretariat of the Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) in conjunction with the Central Bureau
of Statistics (CBS) of the Government of Indonesia,
at Jakarta from 23 to 27 January 1995. Host
facilities were made available by the Government
of Indonesia. Financial assistance for the Seminar
was provided by the Government of the Netherlands
under the project entitled "Development and
improvement of environment statistics".
A.
Attendance
2. The Seminar was attended by 18 participants
from the following seven member countries of
ESCAP: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, Indonesia,
Nepal and Thailand. The United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Information and Policy
Analysis (DESIPA) was represented. The Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) were also
represented. Representatives from the secretariat
of the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) also attended.
B.
Opening of the Seminar
3. The Director of the Statistics Division
of ESCAP delivered a statement on behalf of
the Commission. He expressed his deep gratitude
to the Government of Indonesia for arranging
the host facilities for the Seminar, and to
the Government of the Netherlands for providing
financial support. He noted that the Rio de
Janeiro Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) and the resulting Agenda 21 had heightened
concern in the region for incorporating environmental
considerations into the development process.
4. Countries needed sound statistical information
to address environmental problems and issues,
but many developing countries in the region
had been unable to initiate work on environment
statistics on their own. ESCAP had thus launched
the current project to establish and improve
systems of environmental data collection, through
case studies in the compilation of environmental
compendia as well as the development of an operational
handbook on environment statistics. The Director
of the Statistics Division noted that the handbook,
with the benefit of the Seminar's comments,
would be finalized and distributed to member
countries by mid 1995; since it was the first
of its kind, participants would be contributing
to pioneering work.
5. He congratulated the participating countries
on producing their national compendia of environment
statistics which, if regularly updated, would
be very useful for monitoring changes in the
environmental situation as well as for providing
input into State of the Environment reports.
In concluding, the Director thanked the participating
countries for contributing significantly to
the development of environment statistics in
the region, and expressed confidence that the
expertise and experience of the participants
during the Seminar would generate further useful
ideas for follow-up activities.
6. In welcoming the participants, the Director-General
of the Central Bureau of Statistics of Indonesia,
Mr Sugito Suwito, observed that the world was
facing increased danger from environmental degradation,
for which both the developed and the developing
countries could be said to be held responsible.
The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro had agreed
that cooperation and global partnership were
needed to cope with the environmental damage
caused by human activities. The 27 principles
invoked by the Rio conference allowed countries
to utilize fully their natural resources while
integrating environmental protection into their
development programmes and placing paramount
importance on the sustainability of development.
7. The Director-General noted that the integration
of development and environment issues posed
challenges to national statistical agencies
to provide data to monitor and evaluate the
implementation of the accords reached at the
Earth Summit in order to assess, in fact, the
extent to which development was sustainable.
Comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date data
were a prerequisite for an information system
on the environment, and represented the statisticians'
contribution to decision-making activities which
would avoid further degradation of the environment.
He noted that the present Seminar would help
statisticians perform that function better.
8. In recognizing the present inadequacy of
environment statistics, especially for developing
countries, the Director-General enumerated a
number of contributing factors, related not
only to the wide range of disciplines involved
and to technical and human resource considerations,
but also to the need for the statistical office
to build strong institutional relationships
with other agencies concerned. Much work remained
to be done, even in Indonesia where environment
statistics had been published since 1982. He
also noted that the availability of environment
statistics was a necessary condition for the
compilation of natural resource accounts. The
Director-General considered that computing environmentally
adjusted GDP was the ultimate goal, since it
would permit an assessment of the sustainability
of growth. The effort, time and resources necessary
to achieve that goal needed to be committed
now.
9. The Director-General recalled that in the
very limited time at its disposal, the Seminar
had specific targets in terms of finalizing
the operational handbook on environment statistics
and in improving the national compendia. In
declaring the Seminar open, he expressed confidence
that the experience, expertise and understanding
of the participants would allow the Seminar
to complete its tasks.
C.
Election of officers
10. The Seminar elected Mr Sugiarto (Indonesia)
as Chairperson, and Ms Jeannette Heycox (Australia)
as Vice-Chairperson. Mr Md. Delwar Hossain (Bangladesh)
was elected Rapporteur.
D.
Adoption of the agenda
11. The Seminar adopted the following agenda:
- Opening of the Seminar.
- Election of officers.
- Adoption of the agenda.
- Preparation of compendia
of environment and environment related statistics
in selected countries.
- Methods and techniques
for the collection and compilation of environment
statistics.
- Other matters.
- Adoption of the report.
E.
Documentation
12. A list of the documents prepared for the
Seminar is provided in Annex I to the report.
F.
Field visits
13. During the Seminar, visits were made to
the headquarters of the CBS in Jakarta and to
the Environmental Management Center of the Environmental
Impact Management Agency (BADEPAL) in Serpong.
14. At the conclusion of the Seminar, the participants
thanked the Government and people of Indonesia,
particularly the Director-General and the staff
of CBS, for the excellent arrangements made
for the Seminar and the warm hospitality accorded
to them.
II.
PREPARATION OF COMPENDIAmOF ENVIRONMENT AND
ENVIRONMENT-RELATED STATISTICS IN SELECTED COUNTRIES
15. Under the agenda item, the Seminar had
before it country papers on the status of environment
statistics, compendia on environment statistics
prepared by the six participating countries
(STAT/SES/1 to /6), papers prepared by the United
Nations Statistical Division (STAT/SES/9 and
/15) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics
(STAT/SES/7 and /8), and a note by the secretariat
(STAT/SES/16).
16. The participants introduced their country
papers, which described the status of the collection
and dissemination of environment statistics
in their respective national contexts, and in
particular the issues and problems they had
faced in producing the compendia of environment
statistics. The Seminar noted with interest
that in some cases the ESCAP project had played
a catalytic role in initiating the development
of environment statistics.
17. With a view to having more intensive discussions
on the draft compendia, the Seminar participants
were formed into two Working Groups. Group A
discussed the compendia prepared by Bangladesh,
China and Fiji, while Group B considered the
compendia prepared by Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand.
The compendia were reviewed mainly on the basis
of the criteria laid out in the secretariat
document STAT/SES/16.
18. The Seminar noted the findings and suggestions
of the Working Groups in improving and updating
the compendia, as conveyed by the chairmen of
the Working Groups. The Seminar felt that the
participating countries had done an excellent
job in compiling their environmental data in
the form of the present compendia, in spite
of the dearth of information on various aspects
of the environment. It recognized that, the
attempt being the first of its kind, it was
natural that the compendia should suffer from
some errors and other problems. The participants
also observed that for the current edition of
the compendia, the presentations of currently
available statistics on environmental concerns
did not exactly conform to the sequence and
arrangement suggested in the secretariat note,
but reflected the linkages across areas as had
been perceived by individual countries.
19. It was noted that some participating countries
had well established and organized procedures
for the collection of data in some areas of
environment statistics, whereas others depended
very much on existing censuses and sample surveys
as well as on some ad hoc surveys specially
designed to collect information on air and water
pollution. The Seminar nevertheless felt that
while it was quite appropriate for countries
to rely on such sources for their first compendia,
there would in future be a need to conduct surveys
on a regular basis, especially to collect core
environmental data. It noted that in some cases
environment statistics could be collected by
adding a few items to the questionnaires developed
for other regular surveys.
20. The Seminar felt that to improve the quality
of future editions of the compendia, the following
points would need to be taken into account:
- Considerable duplication
existed between national statistical yearbooks
and the present compendia of environment statistics.
Future editions of the compendia should include
only those statistics which were environment-related
and which focused more specifically on environmental
concerns;
- The compendia should not
be overcrowded with all types of information
that might be available, but rather should
give priority to environmental variables,
bearing in mind data availability and the
needs of individual countries;
- Countries should adhere
to the United Nations Framework for the Development
of Environment Statistics (FDES) to the extent
possible, although it was realized that against
the present backdrop of data availability
and level of technical expertise, adherence
to the FDES might not always be feasible;
- In presenting their environmental
data, the countries should adopt international
recommendations for the classification and
standardization of statistics so as to improve
data consistency and intercountry comparability.
21. The Seminar noted that the secretariat,
with a view to having uniform and consistent
presentations of future compendia, had proposed
an outline of chapter headings in the annex
to the secretariat note STAT/SES/16. It also
noted that the Working Groups had examined the
areas of concern listed in the tentative outline
proposed by the Expert Group Meeting on Environment
Statistics held at Bangkok in March 1993. Most
of the areas which the secretariat suggested
for incorporation in the proposed outline were
endorsed, subject to the following suggestions:
- While physical resource
accounts might be included in the national
compendia, it was felt that monetary satellite
accounts should be treated separately;
- The section on acidification
and global warming might be excluded from
national compendia at the present time, as
those factors were less relevant to many ESCAP
countries; the secretariat might, however,
include such topics in a future regional compendium;
and
- Data in the national compendia
should ideally be presented according to the
natural boundaries of a country.
22. The Working Groups also recommended the
addition of a few areas of current concern,
relating to tourism, human health, land reclamation,
salinity and desertification. The revised outline
of concerns/chapters is listed in Annex II.
23. The representative of the Australian Bureau
of Statistics (ABS) presented document STAT/SES/7
on the selection of the framework for the second
edition of the ABS environment statistics compendium.
The ABS had used for its first compendium the
United Nations Framework for the Development
of Environment Statistics (FDES). It was found
that the FDES was an important and useful framework
for organizing environment statistics for the
first time, but that approach limited the ability
to examine the impacts of the environment on
the population and the socio-economic system,
and the broader concept of sustainable development.
The ABS adopted the Canadian Population and
Environment Processes (PEP) framework as the
basis for organizing the second edition of their
environment statistics compendium, supplemented
by some organizational elements of the FDES.
The second compendium focused more on the interactions
and flows between the environment, the economy
and population and less on the state of the
environment.
24. The representative of the United Nations
Statistical Division (UNSTAT) presented some
of the recent methodological work in the area
of environmental and sustainable development
indicators on the basis of documents STAT/SES/9
and STAT/SES/15. UNSTAT had developed a Framework
for Indicators of Sustainable Development (FISD)
which combined the concerns of data users as
reflected in UNCED's Agenda 21 with a framework
for data production, such as the FDES. The FISD
contained a listing of indicators which would
be the basis for discussion at the forthcoming
meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group
on the Advancement of Environment Statistics
to be held in Stockholm from 6 to 10 February
1995. The Stockholm meeting would consider for
the first time the initiation of data collection
at the international level for a selected number
of environment and environment-related indicators,
on which it was hoped that consensus would be
reached. It was also pointed out by UNSTAT that
many existing international data systems and
frameworks, such as the System of National Accounts
(SNA), the System of Integrated Environmental
and Economic Accounting (SEEA), the Framework
for developing and integrating Social and Demographic
Statistics (FSDS) and the FDES could serve as
data sources for much of the information needed
to compile indicators of sustainable development.
The Seminar also heard with interest that a
draft glossary of terms of environmental statistics
and accounting had been recently prepared by
a consultant to UNSTAT; it was agreed that the
draft glossary would be distributed for comments
by participants.
25. On the basis of both presentations, the
Seminar discussed the choice of frameworks to
be used in the organization of environment statistics.
It was clear that even though a framework played
an integral role in such organization, there
was no unique framework that served the purpose,
and that furthermore thinking was continuing
to develop as more experience with frameworks
was gained. Countries could adapt any existing
framework to their own concerns and needs.
26. With regard to the development of environmental
and sustainable development indicators, the
Seminar noted the existence of different frameworks
and indicator lists. Despite that situation,
it was felt that data collection should proceed,
if only to gather practical experience with
the alternatives being proposed. The Seminar
stressed that for a first round of international
data compilation a minimum list of such indicators
should be utilized. It was pointed out that
there was a need to prioritize the indicators;
in order not to overwhelm countries in such
a relatively new field, the discussions in Stockholm
and similar fora such as the Statistical Commission
should separate out the list of environment
and environment-related indicators from the
full list of indicators of sustainable development.
It was noted that while the FISD was based on
data expected to be widely available, for a
full picture some important new indicators might
have to be introduced. Some suggestions were
made on the choice of more appropriate demographic
indicators. The Seminar also noted that even
if data were compiled on selected indicators
at the international level, the methodologies
behind them might not be consistent or comparable
at the present stage. The Seminar requested
that its views regarding the development and
collection of indicators should be considered
at the Stockholm meeting.
III.
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE COLLECTION AND
COMPILATION OF ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS
27. The Seminar considered document STAT/SES/10,
the foreword and outline of a complete operational
handbook of environment statistics, and documents
STAT/SES/11 to /14, comprising four chapters
of the draft Handbook.
28. Document STAT/SES/10 explained some general
principles followed in the Handbook. As a rule,
each chapter was divided into three parts, the
first explaining selected variables, the second
introducing global and regional measuring and
monitoring efforts, and the third introducing
specific statistical methodology.
29. The Seminar noted that the Handbook as
yet was unfinished. Only the chapters dealing
with emissions and ensuing ambient quality would
appear in the version of the Handbook to be
printed by June 1995. To fill the gap, general
remarks and a list of references had been put
together in STAT/SES/10, which was organized
chapterwise. Also, the document might serve
coordination needs between agencies presently
involved in environment statistics, in order
to prevent duplication of work. The most important
gaps in the Handbook were identified as the
cluster of chapters with a strong spatial connotation,
like land use/cover, land degradation and deforestation.
30. The Seminar was informed that a definition
of environment statistics did not appear in
the Handbook because a precise answer could
not be provided, given that the field of environment
statistics had not yet been satisfactorily delineated.
31. It was felt that the selection criteria
for the list of references should be explained.
The Seminar noted that the list could be expanded
by including references on other environmental
concerns, like the intrusion of sea water into
groundwater, destruction of coral reefs, and
environmental impact assessments. By contrast,
some participants felt that the the outline
document cited too many references, which might
prove difficult to access.
32. In general remarks on the Handbook, some
participants appreciated its non-prescriptive
nature, while others felt it should have a more
practical slant. As regards specific methodology,
which was lacking in the outline document, the
Seminar noted that when specific chapters in
the outline were expanded into full chapters,
methodology for monitoring would be described
and methodology and classifications for statistics
provided.
33. In further general discussions of the Handbook,
it was suggested that clearer guidance should
be given on the importance of sample size in
relation to the confidence that could be placed
in the statistical data.
34. The Seminar discussed the current structure
of the chapters of the Handbook, and several
modifications were mooted. Given that it was
a statistical handbook, it was suggested that
the statistics section should be brought forward,
to be followed by what in one sense constituted
background information. There was also a suggestion
to gather statistical matters in one chapter,
and place background material in another. A
further suggestion was made to bring together
sampling methodology for air, water and soil
in one chapter, and place data analysis in another.
The Seminar felt, however, that that might not
be practical, as methodologies could differ
markedly for air, water and soil. The Seminar
agreed after discussion that the chapters should
be more or less self-contained, especially as
a modular structure would facilitate the addition
of further chapters in future, possibly by other
agencies. General chapters should however be
added, for instance, as indicated in Annex II
to the report of the Expert Group Meeting on
Environment Statistics in March 1993.
35. Some participants felt the need for the
Handbook to contain more background information,
e.g., about the meaning of biological oxygen
demand (BOD) and other environmental variables.
While the list of references contained several
excellent introductions to subjects like water
and air pollution, the Seminar felt that the
draft glossary of environmental terms being
finalized by UNSTAT might fill that need.
36. The Seminar then considered document STAT/SES/12,
the draft chapter on "Rapid assessment of emissions".
It noted that emission data were necessary as
a complement to ambient quality data, e.g.,
in order to help set the right priorities to
reduce emissions. Developing a system to acquire
a precise overview of pollution data might take
an unacceptably long time; therefore short cuts
needed to be devised to obtain consistent data,
with a certain degree of accuracy, allowing
at least a comparison of the different sources
of emissions. The Handbook recommended use of
the World Health Organization's "Rapid assessment
method" (RAM). The Seminar requested the secretariat
to ask WHO to send participants copies of the
RAM manual.
37. The essence of the Rapid assessment method
was the application of 'emission factors' per
amount of produced goods, according to the process
used and the purification equipment employed.
The method was specifically devised for developing
countries and covered emissions to air, water
and solid waste. Importantly, the method could
be easily adapted to local circumstances through
the use of additional or corrected emission
factors, could be applied to selected emitters
or areas, and could be upgraded into an Emission
Inventory (EI), as used in many countries. Emission
Inventories were developed to integrate data,
acquired by different techniques, into a consistent
framework. In practice, only big polluters could
be monitored individually. Others, like automobiles
and households, had to be addressed collectively.
38. The Seminar noted that the Rapid assessment
method was not a task for the statistical bureau,
as it involved insight into technological processes.
The national statistical office could, however,
assist the environmental protection agency in
data processing and put its business register
and existing statistics to use for aggregated
data.
39. The Seminar discussed whether the emission
factors were representative, as there existed
considerable technological and other relevant
differences between and within countries. The
Seminar was informed that the factors had been
carefully selected from the literature; WHO
had stated that their method had yielded results
of sufficient reliability, even across different
countries. When more appropriate factors became
available in a given situation, they could replace
the factors given in the WHO publication.
40. The batik industry was mentioned as one
for which the RAM did not offer specific emission
factors. The emission load of different small
factories could vary considerably, in contrast
to larger establishments where loads tended
to be more uniform. It was also pointed out
that real emissions might differ from those
calculated, when purification equipment was
only operated during official inspections. To
find more appropriate emission factors, existing
production and emission data might be matched.
Wastes created by the labour force should not
be ignored, and were particularly relevant for
labour-intensive industries.
41. The Seminar noted that in the absence of
capacity or expertise for more elaborate RAM,
limited studies might be carried out. In Nepal,
for example, 'hot spot analyses' were undertaken
on the emissions of the carpet dyeing industry,
which produced much untreated waste. Further,
statistics on registered vehicles or production
could give an albeit rough impression of the
pollution load. While it would be possible to
simplify an inventory by assigning emission
factors to a group of industries, or to car
types collectively, the Seminar recognized that
the resultant data would be of rather dubious
quality.
42. The Seminar had before it document STAT/SES/14,
the draft Handbook chapter on Water Quality.
It noted certain important features of the document
such as key variables, classifications, and
standards in relation to type of water use.
Two special topics were highlighted, drinking
water and groundwater. The Seminar was informed
that in general water quality monitoring and,
to a lesser extent, groundwater monitoring were
in place in the ESCAP region. Possible problems
with existing data sets were touched upon. As
an example of the integration of data, the index
approach was discussed, but because of difficulties
in weighting the components of an index, the
method did not at the moment lend itself to
a uniform approach. Similarly, the Handbook
text did not currently recommend generalizing
from site-specific data; to do so with confidence,
time series of the order of ten years might
be needed.
43. Within the context of cooperation between
national agencies, the Seminar noted as an example
that the Environmental Impact Management Agency
of Indonesia (BAPEDAL) had as yet little experience
and capability in drawing up continuous monitoring
programmes. Field observations were currently
restricted to discrete grab samples. BAPEDAL
and CBS agreed to meet to discuss data compilation
and analysis questions, with a view to making
more use of BAPEDAL's data holdings. The existence
of an updated version of the (Global Environment
Monitoring System) GEMS/WATER Operational Guide
was pointed out; the Handbook could only cover
generalities of field methodology.
44. The Seminar noted that the Handbook mentioned
the 'mean' as the most commonly used statistic.
It was observed that it should be replaced with
statistics representing the percentage of values
exceeding some critical point. The data should
be presented by time and location of observation.
45. The Seminar considered document STAT/SES/11,
the draft chapter relating to Air Quality. The
main features of the chapter were introduced.
The Seminar noted that the primary sources for
the chapter were GEMS/Air and the Economic Commission
for Europe (ECE). The United Nations Environment
Programme's Global Environment Monitoring System
provided a comprehensive system of monitoring
methodology, in which developing and developed
countries were participating, whereas the ECE
sources contained statistical methodology.
46. The Seminar noted that the ECE list of
variables had tentatively been sized down in
the Handbook, to include only those variables
which seemed of direct relevance to developing
countries. The WHO Guidelines on air quality
standards were included. Energy use and transport
were identified as the main sources of air pollution.
The Seminar noted that statistics relating to
energy production and use from which emission
data could be derived would be available in
most countries. It also noted that indoor air
pollution, due to inferior cooking and lighting
fuels, was of specific concern for many developing
countries, and that most effects of air pollution
were of a chronic rather than an acute nature.
47. The Seminar noted that most monitoring
systems were restricted to urban areas, where
many air pollution sources converged. To acquire
data, national statistical offices had to cooperate
with environmental protection agencies, as the
latter were in charge of or involved in field
measurements. It was stressed that data were
site-specific, and hence could not be generalized
without combining a monitoring network with
a validated model. The Seminar noted that that
kind of work seemed for the moment beyond the
scope of developing country capabilities.
48. The Seminar felt that examples of actual
cooperation between statistical and environmental
agencies in some selected countries should be
provided in the Handbook. That suggestion could
be accommodated in a limited way in the present
version of the Handbook to be printed in June
1995, and incorporated in more detail in a later
update which could also reflect comments from
empirical testing.
49. The Seminar had before it document STAT/SES/13,
the draft Handbook chapter on solid waste. The
most important features of the chapter were
brought to the attention of the meeting.
50. The Seminar was informed that the scope
of the chapter had been broadened from hazardous
wastes to all types of waste. Although concern
for air and water emissions had been greater
than that for waste, the latter was currently
receiving increased attention. No satisfactory
and authoritative classification of wastes was
available so far, perhaps because of the relative
lack of attention, the nature of waste, and
problems in its definition. Similarly, little
in the way of recent, comprehensive field methodology
was available for developing countries. Waste
was not currently addressed within GEMS.
51. The Seminar observed that with the current
state of affairs, it might be unwise to direct
much attention to sophisticated data collection
on wastes at the moment, and to rely instead
on indirect and crude data. A start might be
made with selected waste categories, e.g. municipal
waste, or waste from selected industries. Hospital
waste could best be classified under hazardous
waste, as it might be highly infectious.
52. The Seminar stressed the socioeconomic
dimensions of waste in developing countries.
Considerable amounts of recyclable waste were
collected by the informal sector rather than
by municipalities, and statistics had to reflect
that reality. The Seminar felt that household
waste might be a better term than municipal
waste, as the latter tended to exclude the rural
areas, where in any event much of the waste
was burned. The statistical measurement of rural
household waste did not seem to be a priority,
as in general it posed little environmental
problem. Indeed, the recycling of agricultural
waste such as manure underlined the difficulties
of defining waste. In that connection the Seminar
noted that it might be helpful to distinguish
between harmful and useful wastes.
IV.
OTHER MATTERS
53. The Seminar had before it secretariat note
STAT/SES/17 entitled "Some ideas on follow-up
activities relating to the ESCAP project on
development and improvement of environment statistics",
on which the participants' comments were sought.
54. The Seminar noted that the current project
was scheduled to close by the end of June 1995,
by which time work on the Operational Handbook
of Environment Statistics would have advanced
but by no means have been completed. The Seminar
felt that further work on the Handbook could
be carried out by other organizations now becoming
involved in the development of environment statistics,
such as the Asian Development Bank, and in the
second phase of the project provided adequate
funds could be secured.
55. The Seminar welcomed the secretariat's
efforts to extend the project into a second
phase. Among other activities, it was planned
that phase II would feature training courses
in environment statistics at the subregional
level, including in the Pacific where the Seminar
recognized that there were special environmental
concerns. Participants urged that the training
courses should be closely coordinated with the
work of other organizations; the secretariat
noted that it was already in touch with the
Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific
(SIAP), and would contact the Munich Centre
for Advanced Training in Statistics for Developing
Countries. The Seminar heard that the United
Nations University was also planning training
courses in environment statistics, and asked
the representative of UNSTAT to maintain contact
with UNU in that regard.
56. With regard to general coordination issues,
the Seminar noted that the ESCAP Committee on
statistics had recently decided to assume an
enhanced role as the focus of regional statistical
development, which would include greater involvement
in the coordination of statistical activities.
While the secretariat would continue its efforts
to cooperate with other agencies working in
the field of environment, the Committee offered
member countries a high-level forum where coordination
issues could be addressed effectively.
57. The Seminar supported the secretariat's
plan to publish a regional compendium of environment
statistics in the 1996-1997 biennium. It was
suggested that the secretariat should seek information
from countries at that time through a questionnaire
with standardized table formats, to enhance
the intercountry comparability of the information
presented. The Seminar also felt that regional
advisory services in environment statistics
would be helpful.
58. It was noted that future activities in
environment statistics should aim inter alia
at presenting scientifically-gathered environmental
observations in a form readily understandable
to economists and planners, in order to convey
the urgency of the environmental situation to
decision-makers. The Seminar observed that environmental
statisticians had a key role to play in that
regard.
V.
ADOPTION OF THE REPORT
59. The Seminar adopted its report on 27 January
1995.
Annex I
LIST OF DOCUMENTS
| STAT/SES/L.1
| Provisional agenda
|
| STAT/SES/1
| Environment statistics in China
|
| STAT/SES/2
| A compendium of environment statistics,
Bangladesh
|
| STAT/SES/3
| A compendium on the environmental statistics
of Nepal
|
| STAT/SES/4
| A compendium on environmental statistics
of Thailand 1994
|
| STAT/SES/5
| Compendium of environmental statistics
of Indonesia 1993
|
| STAT/SES/6
| Towards a compendium of environment statistics
for Fiji
|
| STAT/SES/7
| The selection of a framework for the 1995
environment statistics compendium of the
Australian Bureau of Statistics
|
| STAT/SES/8
| Environmental and natural resource statistics
in the Australian Bureau of Statistics
|
| STAT/SES/9
| Environmental indicators - methodological
development and compilation
|
| STAT/SES/10
| Draft handbook of environment statistics
- Foreword and Outline
of a complete handbook
|
| STAT/SES/11
| Draft handbook of environment statistics
|
| STAT/SES/12
| Draft handbook of environment statistics
- Rapid assessment
of emissions
|
| STAT/SES/13
| Draft handbook of environment statistics
|
| STAT/SES/14
| Draft handbook of environment statistics
|
| STAT/SES/15
| Data systems for sustainable development
|
| STAT/SES/16
| Implemention of ESCAP project on the development
and improvement of invironment statistics:
A note
|
| STAT/SES/17
| Some ideas on follow-up activities relating
to the ESCAP project on development and
improvement of environment statistics
|
Country papers:
- Status Paper - Environment
Statistics (Bangladesh)
- Status Report on the Compilation
of Environment Statistics in Fiji
- The Development of Environmental
Statistics in Indonesia
- Compilation of Environment
Statistics in Nepal
- Development and Improvement
of Environment Statistics in Thailand
Annex II
LIST OF CONCERNS/PROPOSED
CHAPTERS
- background data
- Geography, climate
& weather
- Natural disasters
[& man-made disasters]
- Population and activities
- Population
- Economic activities
(production and consumption, according
to ISIC)
- Energy
- Water
- Traffic & transport
- Tourism
- Emissions
- Emission and quality
statistics
- water: emission
and quality (fresh and salt)
- air: emissions
and quality
- waste: emissions,
treatment and disposal
- State and effects
- Land use and
related statistics
- land use/land
cover
- deforestation/soil
loss/soil quality
- reclamation
- desertification
- Natural environment
statistics
- protected areas/habitats/ecosystems
- quantity and
status of species (groups)
- Human settlements
- Human health
- Responses
- Legal measures
- Education
- Costs
- Monitoring
|
About Us | Media Centre | Members | Programmes | Documents | Publications | Jobs | 
Bangkok, Thailand