Environmental Indicator - Discussion

Discussion

Environmental indicator criteria and frameworks have been used to help in their selection and presentation.

It can be considered, for example, that there are major subsets of environmental indicators in-line with the Pressure-State-Response model developed by the OECD. One subset of environmental indicators is the collection of ecological indicators which can include physical, biological and chemical measures such as atmospheric temperature, the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere or the number of breeding bird pairs in an area. These are also referred to as “state” indicators as their focus is on the state of the environment or conditions in the environment. A second subset is the collection of indicators that measure human activities or anthropogenic pressures, such as greenhouse gas emissions. These are also referred to as “pressure” indicators. Finally, there are indicators, such as the number of people serviced by sewage treatment, which track societal responses to environmental issues.

Environmental indicators, in turn, should be considered as a subset of sustainable development indicators which are meant to track the overall sustainability of a society with respect to its environmental, social and economic integrity and health.

A common framework spearheaded by the European Environment Agency is the “DPSIR” or “drivers, pressures, state, impact, response” framework. Drivers and pressures are indicators of the human activities and resulting pressures on the environment in the form of pollution or land-use change, for example. State and impact indicators are the resulting conditions in the environment and the implications for the health of ecosystems and humans. The response indicators measure the reaction of human society to the environmental issue. Criteria tend to focus on three key areas – scientific credibility, policy/social relevance and practical monitoring and data requirements.

Environmental indicators are used by governments, non-government organizations, community groups and research institutions to see if environmental objectives are being met, to communicate the state of the environment to the general public and decision makers and as a diagnostic tool through detecting trends in the environment.

Environmental indicators can be measured and reported at different scales. For example, a town may track air quality along with water quality and count the number of rare species of birds to estimate the health of the environment in their area. Indicators are developed for specific ecosystems, such as the Great-Lakes in North America. National governments use environmental indicators to show status and trends with respect to environmental issues of importance to their citizens.