state of the environment and indicators rudi pretorius 3 june 2003 north west province
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State of the environment and indicators
Rudi Pretorius
3 June 2003
North West Province
Why do we need to report on the state of the environment?
World is changing faster than ever before Climate change, desertification, loss in
biodiversity to name a few A few examples…….
What is our response?
We need to respond to the changing condition of the environment Policies, plans programmes are all aiming to
improve the environment and contribute to sustainable development.
Agenda 21 – chapter 40Constitution of South AfricaNEMA
As government we have responsibility to inform citizens on the state of environment
What is a state of the environment report? Purpose:
To support sustainable development decision making through the provision of credible environmental information
Three characteristics Interpretation, assessment and integration of data Development of spatial and temporal trend
information Linkage between environment and socioeconomic
considerations
What are the requirements for a good status report? Must be consultative Must address at least 3 critical elements
What is the state of the environment? Why is the status the way it is and what are the
implications and impacts? What are we doing about it and what could/should
we be doing? Information must be scientifically sound Content of the report must be user friendly
Different formats, media and languages Must be integrated into planning instruments Recommendations must be applied
Levels of reporting – global to local Global reports
Global Environment Outlook (2002) UNEP
State of the World (2002) WWI
Continental reports African Environment
Outlook (2002) UNEP Regional reports
Southern Africa State of the Environment (1994)
National Report Sub-national reports
Provincial Local/City Sectoral reports
State of Environment reporting in South Africa 1999 National 1999/2000 Cities 2000 State of Rivers 2001State of
Estuaries 2002 Provincial
initiative 2003 Local Authority
initiative
The challenge!
Integrating SoER with environmental planning and reporting regime IDP (5-year cycle – annual reporting)
Vision (future desired state) Assessment (SoER) Development of priorities, objectives, strategies Spatial development framework Disaster management plan Financial plan KPIs
EMP (4 year cycle – annual reporting) EIP (4 year cycle – annual reporting)
Need a common denominator – common currency
Indicators!......and Targets!
Indicators are tools to measure progress towards a goal, a target or desired future state
Environmental indicators will provide us with the hard, quantitative data to ensure a sound basis for both environmental and economic policy in the future
Indicators can serve as a continuous call to arms – and ongoing protection against environmental complacency”
Paul Martin, Minister of Finance, Canada25 May 2001, Toronto Canada
Indicator initiatives
International: Indicators of sustainable
development Millennium declaration JPI indicators
Regional SADC environmental indicators
National: National environmental
indicators (2002) KPIs (IDP – 2002) Human Rights Indicators
Local LA21 indicators KPIs
Water: Two billion people are dying for it
JPI Targets
Half the proportion of people in poverty by 2015.
….by the year 2015, to halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water.
… to halve proportion of people without access to proper sanitation by 2015.
Access to safe drinking water – South Africa
Total proportion of people that have access to safe water has increased from 78.5% in 1996 to 84.3% in 2000 Urban 98% Non-urban 59.6%
Access to water: South Africa - Non urban
50
60
70
80
90
100
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
%
Target
Progress
National targets and goals
7 million people have access to clean, safe water
7 million more people to be provided with clean, safe water over next 3 years
Measuring development progress:Sub-Saharan Africa
Measuring development progress:East Asia
World Environment Day ThemeWater: Two billion people are dying for it
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