Development of sustainable development indicators at the

global level: experiences, challenges, and lessons learned

Mersie EjiguExecutive Director, PAES

March 2011

Overview of Presentation

Sustainable development (SD) as a global agenda: evolution and status

Development of SD indicators – a brief review– UNCSD’s work and the current set of indicators (2007)– The World Bank – UNEP, UNDP, etc. – UN Statistical Office – role and work – Work of global NGOs (IISD, Global Foot Print, etc.)– Universities and other academic institutions

Lessons learned Planned activities and priorities

Sustainable development is about: People and for people; with people behaving

rationally, responsibly, and selflessly across space and generations

Postulates that used natural resources need to be replaced by an equal amount (quantity and quality) to offset depletion

Balanced and integrated pursuit of economic growth, social wellbeing, and protection of the environment

Managing tradeoffs with an integrated short, medium, and long term perspective

Nationally owned and driven processes

Sustainable development is about (cont.):

Continuous process of growth and improvement in living standards, quality of life, productivity, educational, cultural, and political well being of the people while maintaining the quantity and quality of environmental resources.

Sound governance; expansion of human capabilities; Involves all sectors and sections of society

Sustainable Development Dimensions

Economic Dimension of SD:

Optimal and efficient use of scarce resources to meet human needs

Growth that takes into account social and environmental changes (negative and positive)

Entailed shifts in economic theory from: efficient allocation to efficient use of resources classical production factors to new forms of wealth:

natural capital, human capital, and produced capital national income accounting from a flow to a stock/flow

approach – massive effort on biodiversity valuation

Social dimension of SD

Is about people (human capital), the maintenance of different cultures, diversity, pluralism and effective grass-roots participation in decision-making

Intra and intergenerational equity Equal and affordable access to minimum standards

of living, education, health, security, human rights, basic needs and benefits

Opportunity to be gainfully employed, productively contribute to society, and the possibilities for individuals to receive just and fair rewards for their contributions

Environment Dimension of SD

The totality of all biophysical resources, ecosystem services and functions, external conditions and factors that affect the development and survival of all species including human beings

Relation between human beings and nature and how they impact one another.

The maintenance of the stability of bio-physical systems as well as resilience and dynamic capacity of such systems to adapt to change through conservation, sustainable use and management of biodiversity.

Governance Dimension of SD Encompasses institutions, policies, tradition, customs,

relational networks, laws and structures governing and regulating a community and common property, rule of law, effective participation in development, transparent and accountable processes, respect for citizens and their rights, state legitimacy, access to information, and political empowerment of people.

Determines who has access to natural resources and who does not, when and how such resources are utilized, and how they are managed and protected.

Glue that bonds the economic, social, and environmental pillars and makes sustainable development operational

Governance Dimension of SD (cont.)

• Creating enabling conditions for people to be creative and use their ingenuity, and be free from any kind of insecurity arising from social marginalization, environmental stress, pollution, drought, and desertification

Sustainable development as a business strategy

Why Indicators? Why bother?

In a simple language: Know where you are Where you want to goWhere you are going / retreating toHow far you have goneWhy you have not gone far and what is

blocking you?

Indicators: key functions

Advocacy function Policy function Development management function Planning function Resource (human, material, financial)

mobilization function Monitoring and performance assessment

function including on global commitments

What makes SD indicators different?

Show, in an integrated fashion, the state of economic, social, and environmental wellbeing and changes taking place in a sector, system, institution, community, country, or region

Point out areas of strong or weak links between economic growth, social wellbeing, and environmental protection

Require a combined approach- assessment, measurement, use as well as testing, learning, improving,

UNCSD: Development of SD Indicators

1995: First draft indicator set developed jointly by the Division for Sustainable Development and the Statistics Division (UNDESA): >134 indicators for discussion with

organisations within the UN and other international organizations, both intergovernmental and non-governmental

1996: Indicator methodology published in the “Blue book”

UNCSD: Development of SD Indicators (cont.)

1996 - 1999: 22 countries from across the world voluntarily pilot-tested the indicator set

1999 – 2000: The results of the national testing were evaluated, the indicator set was revised

2001: The revised set of CSD indicators was reduced to 58 indicators, embedded in a policy-oriented framework of themes and sub-themes

UNCSD: Development of SD Indicators (cont.)

2005: the DSD started a process to review the Indicators

The coherence between CSD and MDG indicators was also assessed

Two EGMs were held, ongoing communication with different agencies

2007: The publication ‘Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies’

Current set of indicators (2007)

Third version Contains a core set of 50 indicators, These core indicators are part of a larger set of

96 indicators of sustainable development, The set retains the thematic/sub-thematic

framework that was adopted in 2001

Current set of indicators (2007)

The World Bank: Developed the new notion of wealth that

embraces sustainable development: Natural capital Human capital Produced capital

The World Bank (cont.):

Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) – measures overall economic wellbeing sustainability of a

country by adjusting GDP for social costs (crime, automobile accidents, commuting, family breakdown, loss of leisure time, underemployment) and environmental costs (household pollution abatement, water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, loss of wetlands, loss of farmlands, depletion of non-renewable resources, long-term environmental damage, ozone depletion, and loss of old-growth forests).

The World Bank (cont.):

Genuine Domestic Savings (GDS). Shows changes in all capital forms: physical

capital (generated by applying human skills and know-how on natural capital); human capital (stock of capabilities-productive capacities of individuals acquired or inherited) and natural capital (natural resources and ecosystem services)

Traditional approaches measure savings and investment are income-based that exclude the natural and human capital.

UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI)

measures national progress through the indexation of three socio-economic indicators: longevity, knowledge, and standard of living.

Often considered as an alternative to GDP, although not yet universally accepted by the scientific community and internalized at the national level. It entails considerable investment in national statistical offices to enable them generate the data required for developing the index.

UNECE/OECD

UNECE/OECD/EUROSTAT Task Force on Measuring Sustainable Development “ pursues the conceptual development of the

capital approach Report will be released in June 2011

Yale University Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP) and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of Columbia University

Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI). Measure sustainability by using the environment as an

entry point and gauging the ability of nations to protect the environment through tracking “natural resource endowments, past and present pollution levels, environmental management efforts, and the capacity of a society to improve its environmental performance.

Focus in on five issues: environmental systems, reducing environmental stresses, reducing human vulnerability to environmental stresses, societal and institutional capacity to respond to environmental challenges, and global stewardship.

Monitoring Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability

Ecological Foot PrintMeasure sustainability by calculating human consumption requirements of the earth’s surface through aggregating the quantities of energy and renewable resources – minerals excluded – that a society (at any level from country to community, household, sector or business) consumes. This consumption is then converted into a common unit of area: the area of productive land and sea required to supply the same resources and absorb the carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. (.

Monitoring Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability (cont,)

The Barometer of Sustainability. Developed by IUCN-the World Conservation Union

and IDRCBased on the premise that economic growth, social

and environmental wellbeing are inseparable and integral parts of what the authors call the “egg” of sustainable development.

Characterize a performance scale which the user can mark as desirable, acceptable, or unacceptable to ensure that ecosystem and human well-being are mutually supportive.

Monitoring Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability (cont.)

Dashboard of Sustainability: – Developed by IISD– Named after a vehicle’s instrument panel and presented

in visual format, displays performance toward (or away from) sustainability.

– Key features: performance evaluation with individual indicators and aggregate indices; country comparison with distribution curves and maps; comparison within country groups; and linkage analysis and scatter plots

Monitoring Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability (cont.):

Governance Research Indicators Country Snapshot (GRICS). appraises how “governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them by focusing on six dimensions of governance: voice and accountability; political stability and absence of violence; government effectiveness; regulatory quality; rule of law; and control of Corruption

Monitoring Progress Toward Sustainability (cont.):

Natural resource accounts (NRA) and material/energy balances (MEB) measure physical exchanges between the economy and the environment natural resource accounts record changes in the stocks of raw materials such as minerals or timber material/energy balances record the flows of materials and energy from the environment to the economy, through the economy, and back to the environment as pollution and wastes.

Reporting on Progress Toward Sustainability - UNEP

The Global Environment Outlook (GEO). a comprehensive report on the global state of the environment, trends, challenges, and the way forward to improving environmental management. Since initiated immediately after the publication of Agenda 21, GEO is on its fifth year with GEO-5 expected in 2012. One of the unique features of GEO is its use of wide ranging data sources and highly participatory and consultative approach to its preparation involving leading scientists, environmental experts and key policymakers within a well coordinated global network of collaborating centers.

Reporting on Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability – CBD

Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO). – Currently on its third edition, – Draws upon a range of information sources to

report on status and trends of biodiversity and implementation of CBD

Monitoring Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability – UNEP :

The African Environment Outlook (AEO)– First publication in 2002, AEO has become the most

authoritative, influential, and valuable source of comprehensive information on environment and development in Africa.

– Published every four years, AEO tracks country, sub-regional and regional state of the environment, trends, threats, opportunities, and emerging issues. “Some 22 countries and five sub-regions have produced their environment outlook reports using the AEO methodology

– Has well developed list of themes, priority issues, lead indicators, type of indicators, and indication of sources of data, AEO is a valuable reference for this SD indicators work.

Reporting on Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability: UNCCD

Performance Review and Assessment of the Implementation System (PRAIS).

Designed to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the UNCCD Ten-Year Strategic Plan and Framework. The PRAIS has set up 18 performance indicators and 11 impact indicators. Although require further refinement, impact indicators show conditions of the livelihoods of the affected populations, conditions of the affected ecosystems, and the global benefit generated by the implementation of the Ten Year Strategic Plan.

Reporting on Progress Toward or Retreat from Sustainability: UNECA

SDRA I SDRA II SDRA III

Lessons learned

Need for continuous review of SD indicators based on the experiences gained by countries in applying and adapting the set of indicators

Global environmental and social awareness significantly raised, particularly by HDI’s comprehensive approach to human resource had a

profound effect in the development practitioners, researchers, and academicians view of societal advancement.

ECOFOOT, similarly, had enormous effect on how people see their consumption behavior in relation to the earth’s resourcesd practices into permanent work programmes was considered important

Lessons learned (cont.)

However, their influence on country level policies and operations has been very limited, at best and non-existent, at worst

Even with CSD indicators integrating them into national development policies and transforming them as national level indicators was far less than desired

The initial CSD indicator set was considered to be too large to be easily managed, hence reduced significantly. But what is the ideal number of indicators?

Lessons learned (cont.)

Compartmentalization (silo syndrome), hence the need for developing a multidisciplinary mindset: transcending sectoral interests

Absence of effective and capable institutions responsible for coordinating and guiding sustainable development

Data availability and reliability continue to be a problem in many countries

Thank You