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INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGIES
Foreword
In the four years since the Rio Summit, there have been many
initiatives to promote sustainable development. Indicators are useful
tools to gain insight regarding the progress made in achieving sustainable
development. Agenda 21 calls for countries, international organizations
and non-governmental organizations to develop and use indicators of
sustainable development.
Building on many national and international initiatives aimed at
developing and using indicators, the Commission on Sustainable Development
in 1995 adopted a work programme on indicators for sustainable development.
The work programme includes an initial set of 130 indicators.
To facilitate the use of these indicators and to test their
practicability at the same time, methodology sheets have been developed for
each of them. This publication presents these methodology sheets.
It is essential to get feedback on the indicators and the methodology
sheets. We, in the CSD secretariat, look forward to your reactions and
comments. The goal is to have a good set of indicators for sustainable
development by the year 2000. We count on the users of this publication to
contribute to this goal.
On behalf of the United Nations, I would like to thank all of those
who have participated in the process of making this publication possible.
Joke Waller-Hunter
Director
Division for Sustainable Development
Department for Policy Coordination
and Sustainable Development
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Table of Contents
Page
Foreword
Table of contents v
Introduction vii
Working list of indicators of sustainable development ix
Methodology sheets:
Indicators for social aspects of sustainable development 1
Chapter 3: Combating poverty 3
Chapter 5: Demographic dynamics and sustainability 31
Chapter 36: Promoting education, public awareness and
training 44
Chapter 6: Protecting and promoting human health 83
Chapter 7: Promoting sustainable human settlement
development 123
Indicators for economic aspects of sustainable development 150
Chapter 2: International cooperation to accelerate
sustainable development in countries
and related domestic policies 152
Chapter 4: Changing consumption patterns 166
Chapter 33: Financial resources and mechanisms 184
Chapter 34: Transfer of environmentally sound
technology, cooperation and
capacity-building 201
Indicators for environmental aspects of sustainable development 210
Water
Chapter 18: Protection of the quality and supply
of freshwater resources 213
Chapter 17: Protection of the oceans, all kinds of
seas and coastal areas 233
Land
Chapter 10: Integrated approach to the planning
and management of land resources 245
Chapter 12: Managing fragile ecosystems: combating
desertification and drought 255
Chapter 13: Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable
mountain development 269
Chapter 14: Promoting sustainable agriculture and
rural development 280
Other natural resources
Chapter 11: Combating deforestation 298
Chapter 15: Conservation of biological diversity 311
Chapter 16: Environmentally sound management of
biotechnology 318
Atmosphere
Chapter 9: Protection of the atmosphere 323
Waste
Chapter 21: Environmentally sound management of
solid wastes and sewage-related issues 349
Chapter 19: Environmentally sound management of
toxic chemicals 364
Chapter 20: Environmentally sound management of
hazardous wastes 366
Chapter 22: Safe and environmentally sound
management of radioactive wastes 382
Indicators for institutional aspects of sustainable development 385
Chapter 8: Integrating environment and development
in decision-making 386
Chapter 35: Science for sustainable development 395
Chapter 39: International legal instruments and
mechanisms 404
Chapter 40: Information for decision-making 411
Chapter 23-32: Strengthening the role of major groups 419
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Introduction
On occasion of its third session, in April 1995, the Commission on
Sustainable Development (CSD) approved a work programme on indicators of
sustainable development. The work programme included a list of
approximately 130 indicators organized in the Driving Force - State -
Response Framework. In this framework, Driving Force indicators represent
human activities, processes and patterns that impact on sustainable
development, State indicators indicate the "state" of sustainable
development, and response indicators indicate policy options and other
responses to changes in the state of sustainable development.
The indicators are intended for use at the national level by
countries in their decision-making processes. Not all of the indicators
will be applicable in every situation. It is understood that countries
will choose to use from among the indicators those relevant to national
priorities, goals and targets.
Following the decision of the CSD and the adoption of an
implementation plan by experts from various organizations involved in the
follow-up, the process of developing methodology sheets for each of the
indicators was started. The purpose of the methodology sheets is to
provide users at the national level with sufficient information about the
concept, significance, measurement and data sources for each indicator so
as to facilitate data collection and analysis. The process was coordinated
by the United Nations Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development (DPCSD) but builds upon indicator work being carried out in
several organizations. The process was marked by a high degree of
collaboration among a large number of organizations of the United Nations
system, other intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental
organizations.
Organizations which have contributed both to the development of the
indicators and to the preparation of the methodology sheets include the
following: the United Nations Department for Economic and Social
Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA); the United Nations Department for
Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD); the United Nations
Department for Development Support and Management Services (DDSMS); the
United Nations Department for Humanitarian Affairs (DHA); the secretariat
of the Framework Convention on Climate Change; the United Nations
Children~s Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
its Office to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNSO); the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the secretariat of the Basel Convention;
the United Nations University; the Regional Commissions of the United
Nations; the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat); the
International Labour Organization (ILO); the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the World Health
Organization (WHO); the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); the
World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO); the World Bank; the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA); the European Communities Statistical Office; the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); the
International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT); the International
Conservation Union (IUCN); the International Institute for Sustainable
Development (IISD); the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis
(IIASA); the National Institute for Public Health and Environmental
Protection of the Netherlands (RIVM); the New Economics Foundation; the
Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE); the Worldwatch
Institute; the World Resources Institute (WRI); the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF); and the Wuppertal Institute.
In February 1996, a meeting of government experts was organized by
the Environment Agency of Japan, in cooperation with DPCSD, in Glen Cove,
New York, to discuss and evaluate the methodology sheets from the point of
view of potential users. The methodology sheets were also circulated among
a roster of international experts for their comments.
The responsible organizations revised the methodology sheets
accordingly and a first draft of the publication was presented as a
Background Paper no. 15, at the fourth session of the Commission on
Sustainable Development, in April/May 1996. Since then additional and
revised methodology sheets have been submitted by the lead agencies and
were incorporated into the revised edition of the document. In a few
instances, methodology sheets are still being developed and in these cases,
a "bookmark" has been included, stating the name of the indicator, a brief
definition, the unit of measurement, and its placement in the framework.
The work on completing and revising the methodology sheets will continue,
as the CSD work programme on indicators now enters its second phase.
The second phase concentrates on enhancement of information exchange
among all interested partners, training and capacity building at the
regional and national levels and monitoring the use of the indicators in
countries that have shown interest in this process. The publication will
now be forwarded to all Governments to assist them in working with
indicators in their decision-making processes. As feedback and results
from testing, analytical work are discussed, further improvements in the
indicators and methodology sheets will be implemented. This includes in
the longer run, additional work on interlinkages, highly aggregated
indicators and the conceptual framework and compilation of environmental
indicators.
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Working List of Indicators of Sustainable Development
CATEGORY: SOCIAL
Chapter 3: Combating poverty
Driving Force Indicators: - Unemployment rate
State Indicators: - Head count index of poverty
- Poverty gap index
- Squared poverty gap index
- Gini index of income inequality
- Ratio of average female wage
to male wage
Response indicators:
Chapter 5: Demographic dynamics and sustainability
Driving force Indicators: - Population growth rate
- Net migration rate
- Total fertility rate
State Indicators: - Population density
Response Indicators:
Chapter 36: Promoting education, public awareness and training
Driving Force Indicators: - Rate of change of school-age population
- Primary school enrolement ratio
(gross and net)
- Secondary school enrolement ratio
(gross and net)
- Adult literacy rate
State Indicators: - Children reaching grade 5 of primary
education
- School life expectancy
- Difference between male and female
school enrolment ratios
- Women per hundred men in the labour
force
Response Indicators: - GDP spent on education
Chapter 6: Protecting and promoting human health
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators: - Basic sanitation: Percent of
population with adequate
excreta disposal facilities
- access to safe drinking water
- Life expectancy at birth
- Adequate birth weight
- Infant mortality rate
- Maternal mortality rate
- Nutritional status of children
Response Indicators: - Immunization against infectious
childhood diseases
- Contraceptive prevalence
- Promotion of potentially hazardous
chemicals monitored in food
- National health expenditure devoted
to local health care
- Total national health expenditure
related to GNP
Chapter 7: Promoting sustainable human settlement development
Driving Force Indicators: - Rate of growth of urban population
- Per capita consumption of fossil fuel
by motor vehicle transport
- Human and economic loss due to natural
disasters
State Indicators: - Percent of population in urban areas
- Area and population of urban formal
and informal settlements
- Floor area per person
- House price to income ratio
Response Indicators: - Infrastructure expenditure per capita
CATEGORY: ECONOMIC
Chapter 2: International cooperation to accelerate sustainable development
in countries and related domestic policies
Driving Force Indicators: - GDP per capita
- Net investment share in GDP
- Sum of exports and imports as
a percent of GDP
State Indicators: - Environmentally adjusted Net
Domestic Product
- Share of manufactured goods in
total merchandise exports
Response Indicators:
Chapter 4: Changing consumption patterns
Driving Force Indicators: - Annual energy consumption
- Share of natural-resource intensive
industries in manufacturing value-added
State Indicators: - Proven mineral reserves
- Proven fossil fuel energy reserves
- Lifetime of proven energy reserves
- Intensity of material use
- Share of manufacturing value-added
in GDP
- Share of consumption of renewable
energy resources
Response Indicators:
Chapter 33: Financial resources and mechanisms
Driving Force Indicators: - Net resources transfer/GNP
- Total ODA given or received as
a percentage of GNP
State Indicators: - Debt/GNP
- Debt service/export
Response Indicators: - Environmental protection expenditures
as a percent of GDP
- Amount of new or additional funding
for sustainable development
Chapter 34: Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation
and capacity-building
Driving Force Indicators: - Capital goods imports
- Foreign direct investments
State Indicators: - Share of environmentally sound
capital goods imports
Response Indicators: - Technical cooperation grants
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENTAL
Chapter 18: Protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources
Driving Force Indicators: - Annual withdrawals of ground and
surface water
- Domestic consumption of water per
capita
State Indicators: - Groundwater reserves
- Concentration of faecal coliform in
freshwater
- Biochemical oxygen demand in water
bodies
Response Indicators: - Waste-water treatment coverage
- Density of hydrological networks
Chapter 17: Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas and coastal areas
Driving Force Indicators: - Population growth in coastal areas
- Discharges of oil into coastal waters
- Releases of nitrogen and phosphorus
to coastal waters
State Indicators: - Maximum sustained yield for fisheries
- Algae index
Response Indicators:
Chapter 10: Integrated approach to the planning and management of
land resources
Driving Force Indicators: - Land use change
State Indicators: - Changes in land condition
Response Indicators: - Decentralized local-level
natural resource management
Chapter 12: Managing fragile ecosystems: combating desertification
and drought
Driving Force Indicators: - Population living below poverty line
in dryland areas
State Indicators: - National monthly rainfall index
- Satelite derived vegetation index
- Land affected by desertification
Response Indicators:
Chapter 13: Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable mountain development
Driving Force Indicators: - Population change in mountain areas
State Indicators: - Sustainable use of natural resources
in mountain areas
- Welfare of mountain populations
Response Indicators:
Chapter 14: Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development
Driving Force Indicators: - Use of agricultural pesticides
- Use of fertilizers
- Irrigation percent of arable land
- Energy use in agriculture
State Indicators: - Arable land per capita
- Area affected by salinization
and waterlogging
Response Indicators: - Agricultural education
Chapter 11: Combating deforestation
Driving Force Indicators: - Wood harvesting intensity
State Indicators: - Forest area change
Response Indicators: - Managed forest area ratio
- Protected forest area as a percent
of total forest area
Chapter 15: Conservation of biological diversity
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators: - Threatened species as a percent of
total native species
Response Indicators: - Protected area as a percent of
total area
Chapter 16: Environmentally sound management of biotechnology
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators:
Response Indicators: - R & D expenditure for biotechnology
- Existence of national biosafety
regulations or guidelines
Chapter 9: Protection of the atmosphere
Driving Force Indicators: - Emissions of greenhouse gasses
- Emissions of sulphur oxides
- Emissions of nitrogen oxides
- Consumption of ozone depleting
substances
State Indicators: - Ambient concentrations of
pollutants in urban areas
Response Indicators: - Expenditure on air pollution
abatement
Chapter 21: Environmentally sound management of solid waste and
sewage-related isues
Driving Force Indicators: - Generation of industrial and
municipal solid waste
- Household waste disposed per capita
State Indicators:
Response Indicators: - Expenditure on waste management
- Waste recycling and reuse
- Municipal waste disposal
Chapter 19: Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators: - Chemically induced acute poisonings
Response Indicators: - Number of chemicals banned or
severely restricted
Chapter 20: Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes
Driving Force Indicators: - Generation of hazardous wastes
- Imports and exports of hazardous wastes
State Indicators: - Area of land contaminated by
hazardous wastes
Response Indicators: - Expenditure on hazardous waste
treatment
Chapter 22: Safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes
Driving Force Indicators: - Generation of radioactive wastes
State Indicators:
Response Indicators:
CATEGORY: INSTITUTIONAL
Chapter 8: Integrating environment and development in decision-making
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators:
Response Indicators: - Sustainable development stategies
- Programme of integrated environmental
and economic accounting
- Mandated environmental impact assesment
- National councils for sustainable
development
Chapter 35: Science for sustainable development
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators: - Potential scientists and engineers
per million population
Response Indicators: - Scientists and engineers engaged
in R & D per million population
- Expenditure on R & D as a percent of GDP
Chapter 37: National mechanisms and international cooperation for
capacity-building in developing countries
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators:
Response Indicators:
Chapter 38: International institutional arrangements
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators:
Response Indicators:
Chapter 39: International legal instruments and mechanisms
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators:
Response Indicators: - Ratification of global agreements
- Implementation of ratified global
agreements
Chapter 40: Information for decision-making
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators: - Main telephone lines per 100 inhabitants
- Access to information
Response Indicators: - Programmes for national environmental
statistics
Chapter 23-32: Strengthening the role of major groups
Driving Force Indicators:
State Indicators:
Response Indicators: - Representation of major groups in
national councils for sustainable
development
- Representatives of ethnic minorities
and indigenous people in national
councils for sustainable development
- Contribution of NGOs to sustainable
development
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RRojas Research Unit/1997
