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Revision of the UN FDES

This article provides insights into the revision of the UN Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (UN FDES). It covers the history of the UN FDES since 1984, the outcomes of the Expert Group Meetings (EGM), progress updates, and coordination with UNCEEA. The article emphasizes the need for an integrated and flexible framework that accommodates new environmental challenges like climate change. It explores the components and information categories of the UN FDES, highlighting its flexibility, consistency, and comprehensiveness. The EGM conclusions underline the importance of a concise and comprehensive framework that connects environment statistics with economic and social data. It suggests building on the UN FDES while incorporating new approaches and scientific knowledge, focusing on basic environment statistics, and establishing clear producer-user interfaces.

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Revision of the UN FDES

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  1. Revision of the UN FDES United Nations Statistics Division

  2. Outline • History - Need for a framework • The UN FDES 1984 • EGM on the Framework for Environment Statistics - Conclusions • Statistical Commission 41st session • Progress since SC 41 • Coordination with UNCEEA

  3. Need for a framework • Oslo Conference on Climate Change and Official Statistics • Seoul Conference on Climate Change, Development and Official Statistics • Programme Review on Climate Change and Official Statistics • 40th session of the Statistical Commission • Canadian paper on FDES

  4. Need for a framework (cont.) The countries had stressed the importance of an overarching framework that: • clearly marks out the scope and contents of environment statistics • is integrative in nature, comprehensive and flexible enough to accommodate the information needs of new and emerging environmental and policy issues such as climate change. • allows for the identification of data needs, data sources and gaps • allows for the allocation of roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders in the production of environmental data including the assurance of data quality.

  5. The UN FDES 1984 • The UN FDES is a broad framework that relates the components of the environment to information categories • The components of the environment define the scope of environment statistics. • The information categories reflect the fact that environmental changes are the result of human activities and natural events.

  6. The UN FDES The basic components of the environment are: (i) flora; (ii) fauna; (iii) atmosphere; (iv) water (freshwater and marine water); (v) land and soil (surface and subsurface); (vi) human settlements. The basic components are those of the ecosystems.

  7. The UN FDES The information categories represent: (i) the social and economic activities, and natural events that exert pressures on the environment; (ii) the environmental impacts of these activities or events; (iii) the socio-economic responses to environmental impacts; and (iv) inventories, stocks and background conditions. The information categories reflect: (a) stocks and flows, (b) drivers, pressures, impacts, state and responses.

  8. The UN FDES The contents of the framework are the statistical topics. • These are determined as the statistically quantifiable aspects of general environmental concerns (link to environmental policy). • The statistical topics are listed in the framework tables. • The framework’s generality and flexibility allows for additional topics as well as for additional details (aggregation or disaggregation) within the topics.

  9. The UN FDES Main properties of the UN FDES: • Flexibility • Consistency • Comprehensiveness

  10. EGM on the Framework for Environment Statistics - Conclusions The EGM was convened by UNSD November 2009. It: • discussed the role of a framework in the development of environment statistics; • assessed the lessons learned when applying different frameworks; • reviewed new approaches, including the ecosystem approach; • reviewed the UN FDES in the light of new approaches and policy issues.

  11. EGM Conclusions (cont) The EGM concluded that a conceptual framework for environment statistics is needed that is: • Comprehensive, integrative and overarching; encompasses all aspects of the environment • Based on improved scientific knowledge and new requirements • Relevant for both developed and developing countries • Focuses on basic environment statistics that can serve multiple purposes • Includes clear links to economic and social statistics • Explains linkages between basic environment statistics, indicators, measurement, aggregation and and analytical frameworks • Marks out the role of different data producers • Interface between producers and users • The ecosystem approach should be considered as a possible conceptual foundation • The revised Framework should be kept short (with a maximum length of 50 pages), concise and simple to understand and apply • The Framework should build on, complement and support (and supported by) ongoing work on international standards, recommendations and best practices The EGM agreed that due to its comprehensiveness and flexible structure the UN FDES is a good starting point to develop the framework.

  12. EGM conclusions (cont) The Expert Group Meeting recommended that, as a response to the request by many developing countries, UNSD should also establish, based on the framework, a core (minimum) set of environment statistics to provide guidance to countries that have very limited resources and are at the early stages of developing environment statistics.

  13. EGM Conclusions (cont) • UNSD to lead the process and convene EG • Revision should be completed in two years and the Framework presented to SC in 2012.

  14. Statistical Commission 41st session • The conclusions of the EGM, including guiding principles, proposed contents and modalities of the process, were presented to the SC 41st session • Strong support from the Commission (42 interventions, all supportive) • The SC endorsed the programme with, among others, the following comments:

  15. Statistical Commission 41st session (cont) • The FDES revision process should engage all stakeholders including the scientific community • Complementarity with the SEEA has to be ensured and efforts related to the revision of the SEEA should not be diluted • Caution should be used when considering the ecosystem approach as the conceptual foundation • The IWG-ENV should support UNSD and the EG that should be convened to implement the revision • A more realistic timetable should be developed.

  16. Progress since SC 41 • Expert Group is being set up (end of June) – 22 confirmed, 13 pending • Proper representation of regions, developed and developing countries, NSOs and EAs, IOs, science, users • Chair: Munir Sheikh, Chief Statistician of Canada • IWG-ENV

  17. Progress since SC 41 (cont) • Draft Terms of Reference under discussion • Draft Work Programme under discussion • Work on draft annotated outline is in progress • Work on draft issue list is in progress • Sent out to EG for comments end of June early July • Meeting New York, 4-6 November 2010 (tentative)

  18. Coordination with UNCEEA • UNSD ensures coordination • UNCEEA represented in EG • EG members/countries overlap with UNCEEA/LG • Progress reports to inform UNCEEA at its meetings

  19. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/environment/fdes.htm http://unstats.un.org/unsd/environment/concepts.htm http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/doc10/2010-9-Framework-EnvStats-E.pdf http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/doc10/BG-EGM-EnvStats.pdf

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