Progress on National Indicator Systems

1. Progress on National Indicator Systems Theodore Heintz White House Council on Environmental Quality Dave Radloff U.S. Forest Service

2. This Presentation Will Cover: • The Key National Indicator Initiative • Federal interagency efforts to develop a national system of indicators on natural and environmental resources • The Integration and Synthesis Group

3. The Key National Indicator Initiative Congress GAO ? National Academies’ Key National Indicators Initiative ?? $$ Private Sources Steering Committee Economic Indicator Group National Coordinating Committee (Stakeholders) Environmental Indicator Group Collabor- ative Process Social Indicator Group Key National Indicators On the Environment, The Economy, and People Key National Indicators Institute?

4. The Interagency Indicator Effort White House CEQ Interagency Indicator Coordination Private Sources $$ $$ Federal Agencies $$ Roundtables: Forests, Rangelands Minerals, Water Collabor- ative Process Heinz Center State of the Nation’s Ecosystems Stakeholders & Experts Stakeholders & Experts National System of Indicators on Natural And Environmental Resources Key Indicators

5. Information Pyramid More Integration and Distillation Public Discourse Key Indicators Policy, Planning and Management Indicators Less Integration and Distillation Monitoring Data

6. A Desirable Convergence National System of Indicators on Natural And Environmental Resources Key National Indicators On the Environment, The Economy, and People Key Indicators Start by developing a common catalog of candidate indicators. Also develop a shared collaborative process for selecting indicators.

7. Developing a Common Catalog • Draw on the SFM C&I and the C&I from other roundtables, the EPA and the Heinz Center; fill gaps from other sources. • The leaders of the Heinz Center effort will lead the KNII Environmental Indicators Group. • The CEQ will coordinate efforts among the Federal agencies and the roundtables to support both efforts.

8. Organizing Indicators in the Catalog • Bring indicators from separate projects together into a comprehensive and integrated national system of indicators. • Use common frameworks to group similar indicators from different projects together. • Use the ISG Framework as well as others.

9. Earth’s Ecosystem Environmental Subsystem Human Subsystem Tier 0 – ISG Conceptual Framework

10. Human Subsystem Evaluation of Sustainability Environmental Subsystem Natural Resource Capital Social Capacity & Economic Capital Current Human Conditions Current Environmental Conditions State t0 Environmental & Natural Resource Processes Social & Economic Processes Interactions Time Processes Current Environmental Conditions State t1 Natural Resource Capital Social Capacity & Economic Capital Current Human Conditions Tier 1 - ISG Conceptual Framework

11. Human Subsystem Evaluation of Sustainability Environmental Subsystem Natural Resource Capital Social Capacity & Economic Capital Current Human Conditions Current Environmental Conditions State t0 Ecosystem Services Environmental & Natural Resource Processes Social & Economic Processes Time Processes Human Alterations And Discharges Current Environmental Conditions State t1 Natural Resource Capital Social Capacity & Economic Capital Current Human Conditions Tier 1a - Conceptual Framework

12. Environmental Subsystem Human Subsystem Initial Environmental Conditions Initial Natural Resource Capital Initial Social Capacity And Economic Capital Initial Human Conditions Air, Water. Climate, Plants, Animals Soil, Microbes, Rocks Biomass, Water, Minerals Economic Assets & Liabilities Social Opportunities & Constraints Values & Norms Income, Health, Security Land cover, land form and water flow alterations; Waste discharges; Biota transport Investment, Use of Goods And Services Underlying Social And Economic Processes: Underlying Environmental Processes: Atmospheric Hydrologic Biologic/ Ecologic Geologic Processes Producing Tangible Environmental Outputs Flow of Tangible Environmental Outputs Extraction Production of Economic Goods and Services Processes Producing Intangible Environmental Attributes Demographic, Cultural, Governance’ Legal, Market, Interaction, Family, Education Flow of Intangible Environ. Attributes Interaction with Intangible Env. Attributes Processes Producing Tangible Environmental Events Flow of Tangible Environmental Events Interaction with Tangible Env. Events Land cover, land form and water flow alterations; Waste discharges; Biota transport Air, Water. Climate Plants, Animals Soil, Microbes, Rocks Biomass, Water, Minerals Economic Assets & Liabilities Social Opportunities & Constraints Values & Norms Income, Health, Security New Natural Resource Capital New Environmental Conditions New Social Capacity And Economic Capital New Human Conditions Tier 2 – ISG Conceptual Framework

13. Putting the SFM C&I Into the ISG Framework • Environmental Condition Indicators • Plants: Number and status of species • Animals: Numbers and status of species • Soils: Area with erosion and area with diminished organic matter • Natural Resource Capital Indicators • Area of forest available for timber production • Total growing stock

14. More SFM C&I Examples • Underlying Environmental Processes • Absorption and release of carbon • Economic Processes Indicators • Annual removal of timber and non-timber products • Value and volume of wood and non-wood products • Value of investment

15. More SFM C&I Examples • Human Condition Indicators • Wages • Injury rates • Economic Capital Indicators • Recreation facilities • Physical infrastructure • Social Capacity Indicators • R&D Capacity for scientific knowledge • Forest inventory and monitoring capacity

16. Putting the SRR C&I Into the ISG Framework • Environmental Condition Indicators • Plants: Number and distribution of species • Animals: Numbers and distribution of species • Soils: Area with erosion and area with diminished organic matter • Natural Resource Capital Indicators • Area of rangeland grazed by livestock • Rangeland above ground biomass

17. More SRR C&I Examples • Underlying Environmental Processes • Microbial activity in rangeland soils • Economic Processes Indicators • Annual removal of native hay and non-forage plant materials • Value of forage harvested by livestock • Value of investments

18. More SRR C&I Examples • Human Condition Indicators • Income by work location • Poverty rates • Social Capacity Indicators • Social structure quality • Land tenure, use and ownership • R&D programs for rangeland conservation • Measuring and monitoring capacity