PARIS--Environment ministers from the world's industrialized countries May 16 adopted a series of "key environmental indicators" to allow for more consistent international comparison of the main environmental problems facing the planet. The key environmental indicators--which derive from long-standing work undertaken by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)--were approved during a triennial meeting of environment ministers from the 30 OECD member states that focused on the theme of sustainable development.
The OECD, a think tank and occasional negotiating forum for its member countries, has long been a pioneer in the development of international environmental indicators.
The comparative tools gained significant importance during the 1990s and are now used by countries and multilateral organizations in reporting, planning, clarifying policy objectives and priorities, budgeting, and assessing environmental performance.
The OECD's wide-ranging group of indicators are used to conduct regular reviews of its member countries' environmental performance.
Reduced Set of Indicators
The new, reduced set of key indicators was created to allow better study of the current set of environmental problems facing the planet--including air pollution and water pollution, climate change, and threats to biodiversity--and help governments inform citizens of developments in these areas. Ministers agreed during the meeting that the new indicators should be used to assess countries' progress toward meeting a list of sustainable development goals also ratified during the Paris meeting.
On the pollution side, the new indicators offer readily-comparable data and criteria for assessing member countries' efforts to battle climate change, ozone depletion, air and water quality, and waste generation.
On the natural resource side, the indicators offer data and criteria for assessing the state of freshwater resources, forests, fisheries, energy resources, and biodiversity.
The OECD says the reduced list of indicators is "neither final nor exhaustive" and should be seen together with other indicators from the OECD core set.
Copies of the OECD's Key Environmental Indicators, as well as further information on the May 16 Environment Ministers meeting, is available at http://www.oecd.org.:
