Environmental statistics as an important factor in political decision making
As the environmental problems facing modern society intensify, the demand for society faces today, the demand for of environmental statistics has increased. The recognition that the well-being of humankind depends on the state of the environment has led to increased attention to environmental and sustainability issues that require decisions and actions. To implement these measures, the regular production of high-quality environmental statistics that will support evidence-based policy development to support data-driven policy decisions so that environmental policy issues can be identified and objectively quantified is of paramount importance.
Environmental statistics reflect basic information about the state of the environment and of its most important changes occurring in space and over time. They contribute to the quality of assessment through the use of a quantitative method to provide more effective, timely, and internationally consistent analysis. Environmental statistics are needed to conduct environmental assessments, produce environmental reports and develop environmental handbooks, environmental indicators and sustainable development indicators, and to promote environmental and economic accounting.
Member States of the United Nations have focused on this area of concern during the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012. The outcome document, “The Future We Want,” contains numerous references to the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in this area. This document repeatedly mentions the importance of data availability, particularly environmental data, as well as relevant information and indicators. The Environmental Statistics Development Framework (ESDP 2013), which includes a set of key environmental statistics indicators, serves as an adequate tool to address these information needs as they relate to the environmental dimension of sustainable development. At the forty-fourth Statistical Commission at its forty-fourth session, the SDGs were recognized a useful tool to adequately respond to the increasing demand for information in the follow-up to Rio+20 and the post-2015 development agenda (including the Sustainable Development Goals).
The problem of producing statistical data on the environment
Environmental statistics cover a broad set of data and is interdisciplinary in nature. The data come from a wide variety of sources and are collected Data are collected using an equally diverse and multiple methodologies. Specific statistics and methodologies are equally needed to effectively produce
environmental statistics equally requires specific statistical and environmental expertise, scientific knowledge, institutional capacity, and sufficient resources. Many countries still need significant technical assistance and capacity building in this area. Thus, the development of environmental statistics requires an appropriate framework to guide, coordinate and organize the data collection process at all levels