Session 9: Dissemination of Environment Statistics

1. Session 9: Dissemination of Environment Statistics Workshop on Environment Statistics and Accounts 7 – 11 March 2011 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2. Outline of Presentation I. Introduction II. Characteristics of Quality Statistics for Dissemination III. Reasons for Data Dissemination IV. Planning data Dissemination V. Dissemination Methods VI. Data Dissemination at ACS and UNSD VII. Points for discussion

3. I. Introduction • Principle 1 of the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics indicates the importance of statistical data dissemination: It states “Official statistics provide an indispensable element in the information system of a democratic society, serving the government, the economy and the public with data about the economic, demographic, social and environmental situation. To this end, official statistics that meet the test of practical utility are to be compiled and made available on an impartial basis by official statistical agencies to honour citizens' entitlement to public information”. • Dissemination of statistics is the release to users of information obtained through statistical processes that include data collection, data processing, data storing, data retrieving and analysis, and data dissemination.

4. I. Introduction (cont’d) • Statistical data are disseminated to satisfy the needs of policy makers, and other users. • Various release media are used to disseminate the data such as paper publication; fax response to special requests; public speeches, CD-ROMs, flash disks, or electronic format via the internet and emails • The ongoing developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have provided statistics offices with new opportunities in providing statistical data and information to users. • Internet is a powerful medium for national statistics dissemination. It has opened a window of opportunity that could alleviate information scarcity widely experienced by African countries. • It is important to disseminate metadata together with data

5. II. Characteristics of Quality Statistics for dissemination Data disseminated should fulfil quality characteristics: relevance, accuracy, timeliness, comparability, accessibility and coherence. Relevance: Statistics are relevant when they meet users needs. • Statistical offices need to identify who the potential users are, what they need in terms of content, formats and delivery modes. NSOs should be flexible enough in order to address the data needs of emerging policy issues. • To increase statistics relevance, demand driven approaches to the production of statistics must prevail upon the supply driven approaches. Accuracy: The accuracy of statistical information is the degree to which the information correctly describes the phenomena it is designed to measure.

6. II. Characteristics of Quality Statistics for dissemination (cont’d) Timeliness: Timeliness of information reflects the length of time between the information's availability and the event or phenomenon it describes. Timeliness must be considered in the context of the time period that permits the information to be of value and still be acted upon. • Accurate information on relevant topics won’t be useful to users if it arrives after they have made decisions. • Some factors affecting data timeliness include: -Delays in the implementation of statistical operations; -data processing delays; and -poor logistics at the various stages of statistical operations.

7. II. Characteristics of Quality Statistics for dissemination (cont’d) Interpretability: Provision of metadata is essential in building confidence of the user community in official statistics. Provision of metadata is necessary to interpret statistical information appropriately. • Metadata is the data about data. It describes how and when a particular set of data is collected, the data content and sources. • Some factors affecting data comparability are: lack of uniformity with respect to concepts, definitions and methods; incomplete coverage; and methodology for data collection and analysis.

8. II. Characteristics of Quality Statistics for dissemination (cont’d) Accessibility • The accessibility of statistical information reflects how readily the data can be located and accessed. • The accessibility includes the suitability of the form in which the data are available, the media of dissemination, and the availability of metadata and user support services. The cost of the information is also an aspect of its affordability. Coherence • Data are valuable when they can be compared over time or across different areas. • Coherence reflects the degree to which the data and information from a single statistical program are brought together with other data information and are logically connected and completed

9. III. Reasons for Data dissemination • It is the legislated duty of statistical offices • To satisfy the needs of policy makers and other user groups • Reducing duplication in data collection • Reducing cost to reply to data and information requests

10. IV. Planning data dissemination National statistical offices should plan their dissemination based on: • Objective user needs • Method of dissemination to be used • Pricing policy • Marketing and communication policy • Measuring success • Evaluation dissemination methods and plan for improvement

11. V. Dissemination methods Dissemination could be in: • Electronic format • Paper format • Electronic information is more up to date since: • Downloading is quick • Electronic information can easily be forwarded • HTML pages allow to reuse the data • PDF files reflect paper format but do not allow to reuse data easily • Paper is useful for glossy publications or if internet access is difficult

12. VI. Data dissemination at ACS and UNSD • ACS uses publications and electronic media such as CD-ROMs, flash disks, emails, and website to disseminate its data and information • Publications include the African Statistical Yearbook, Pocketbook, Compendium of intra-African trade and related statistics, African Statistical Newsletter, etc. • ACS also posts all data in the Statistical database (statBase) which is also available online • The main environmental indicators are disseminated through the Yearbook and online

13. VI. Data dissemination at ACS and UNSD (cont’d) • UNSD disseminates environment data through its online databases • Data collected by the Questionnaires are made available at the UNSD website • ECA gets its environment data and indicators from UNSD databases online • Main Environmental Indicators available on the UNSD website for 2008 are on: • Water • Water resources; Public water supply; and Waste water

14. VI. Data dissemination at ACS and UNSD (cont’d) • Air Pollution • SO2 emissions; and NOx emissions • Climate Change • Greenhouse gas emissions; CO2 emissions; and CH4 and N2O emissions • Waste • Municipal waste collection; Municipal waste treatment; and Hazardous waste • Land Use • Area of country; Forest area; and Agricultural land

15. VI. Data dissemination at ACS and UNSD (cont’d)

16. VII. Points for discussion Do you have dissemination policy? What dissemination methods do you use? Have you so far disseminated environment indicators? What are the major challenges you faced during dissemination? What measures have you taken to address the challenges?

17. Thank you