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