Laurence Wilson Associate Scientist Emeritus Environment Canada
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Transcript of 1 Environment Canada: Environmental Indicator Reporting Environment Canada Paula Brand Director,...
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Environment Canada:Environmental Indicator Reporting
Environment Canada
Paula Brand
Director, Strategic Alignment Division
April 8,2008
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Presentation outline
• Background / diagnostique– User needs research
• Integrating indicators to next generation State of Environment reporting
• Key elements
– Key indicators
– Web-based delivery
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Reporting as a basis for demonstrating accountability to Canadians
• Reporting to Canadians on the state of their environment is a federal role
• Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) provides the legislative basis for State of Environment reporting
– Requires the Minister “publish, arrange for the publication of or distribute through an information clearinghouse… a periodic report on the state of the Canadian environment” [44(1)(f)ii].
• Supported by broad Ministerial responsibilities outlined in the Department of Environment Act
– the Minister shall, “initiate, recommend and undertake programs, and coordinate programs of the Government of Canada that are designed… to provide to Canadians environmental information in the public interest” [5(a)(iii)]
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Numerous SoE reporting efforts have had varied results
• Iterations of SoE reporting efforts: – 1986, 1991 & 1996: large reports focussed on amassing considerable
amounts of scientific information– 1991: Report on Canada’s Progress Towards a National Set of Environmental
Indicators– 1993-1996: SoE Fact Sheets– 1992-2001: SoE Indicator Bulletins– 1997-2002: 5 NR Department MOU for Federal SoE reporting
▪ (i.e.: Nutrients in the Canadian Environment, Ecological Assessment of the Boreal Shield)
– 1997-2005: Thematic and regional reports – 2001: Tracking key environmental issues– 2003: Environmental Signals: National Environmental Indicator Series– 2005, 2006, 2007: Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators Initiative
• Shifting and unsustained reporting efforts over the past 20 years have failed to:
– inform Canadians – provide consistent information over time
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Environmental Reporting in Canada: Reporting in transition
•Moving towards using indicators for more integrated sustainable development reporting, performance reporting for decision-makers •From
– Comprehensive State of the Environment reports for broad public use
– Environmental indicators for public awareness
To– Sustainable development indicators, performance reporting,
socio-economic modules (e.g., Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators) for policy analysts, managers as a key user group, and for Canadians
– Focus on information systems, analysis capacity and user needs
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Environmental Signals: indicators in 15 issue areas
• Air quality*• Climate change*• Acid rain• Stratospheric ozone• Severe weather and
disasters• Energy • Transportation•
• Freshwater*
•Biodiversity•Soil quality•Agricultural landscapes•Forested landscapes•Watersheds•Toxic substances•Municipal solid waste
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Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators
• Indicators to measure environmental performance in relation to economic performance and human health that can sure to supplement traditional health and economic measures
• Focus on 3 indicators, annual reporting– Air quality– Greenhouse gas emissions– Freshwater quality
• Environmental-economic connections
• Web-based information system - drill down
• Audience: policy analysts and public, can serve a variety of communities, requires a product suite
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CEPA review recommendations address frequency and delivery of SoE reporting
• CEPA consultations– Highlighted the need for “easily understandable, reliable and relevant
information” . . . to “track results . . . warn of potential new threats and . . . help shape environmental and health protection policies and practices”
• Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development
– Recommends “that the government publish biennially, in electronic and hard copy formats, a comprehensive state of the environment report to provide timely, accurate and accessible environmental information, integrated with socioeconomic factors, to improve decision-making and support progress towards sustainability”
• Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources
– Recommends “that CEPA 1999 be amended to require the Government of Canada to publish a comprehensive State of the Environment Report no less frequently than every ten years”
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Communicating Canada’s environmental performance story
• Previous SoE reporting efforts were communicated from a science perspective making it complicated for Canadians
• In the absence of a strong federal story, Canada’s performance story is being told by others:
– Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)– United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)– Suzuki Foundation
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Public opinion research provides insight for demand-driven reporting
• Clear demand for authoritative, timely, credible, consistent information
• Unanimous support for the currently reported issues (air, water, climate change), no consensus on the next priority
• Preference for depth of information on priority topics versus coverage of a greater breadth of topics
• Information needed for public: real-world impacts, international comparability, what do the statistics mean
Focus Group Participants’ Key Questions:● what are the concrete impacts of these trends?
● is the situation getting better or worse? ● what is being done?● what can be done to address these issues?
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What we heard on the importance of international comparison
• Very important to see how Canada compares to other countries
– Adopting best practices / cooperation– Establishing benchmarks / standards– National pride– Credibility, accountability– Interconnectedness
“It’s a global issue”
“National pride”
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Public opinion research identified other common findings
• Overwhelming support for trends over time
• Desire for more up to date information (< 2 yrs)
• Demand for local and place-based information
• Target audiences (Canadians, stakeholders) more receptive to web delivery
– Information access is by media, web search, Wikipedia
• While improvements were suggested, all agreed an initiative like CESI is important
Public opinion feedback on current CESI initiative:
“very important”, “absolutely important”, “extremely important”, “essential”
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Technology exists for an effective new approach• Advances in information technologies are revolutionizing
the way people interact with information
• Customer satisfaction increases significantly when government services are accessed through the web
• Parliamentary committee recognized need for a modernized SoE reporting approach
– “…should be reinstated in manner suitable to today’s technology that gives access to the data as well as analysis.”
• Web is the most effective means to respond to public expectations
– More frequent reporting cycles, access to underlying detail, local scale information
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Next generation SoE reporting
▪ Focus on issues of importance to Canadians and GoC agenda (Climate change, air, water, protected areas)
▪ Demand driven and policy-based▪ Trend-based information▪ Easily understood
▪ Dashboard approach ▪ Access to local and regional level information▪ Customizable and searchable
VISION
Key Indicators
Web-based delivery
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SoE reporting driven from an audience-based perspective
Inventory And Monitoring Data and
Statistics
People withTopic or Issue Interests
Is problem X common? How are conditions changing?
ManagersAnd
Policy AnalystsIs Program Z
“doing its job?”
Core Indicators
Generally Informed Public How are we doing overall?What does it mean to me?
Scientist / Individuals
Public
Policy, PlanningAnd
ManagementMetrics
Key indicators
CESI
National Inventory
Report What are current conditions
and trends at Area C
VISION
DPR
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Key indicators: Attributes based on public audience perspective
Inventory And Monitoring Data and
Statistics
Core Indicators
Attributes of Key Indicators- Easily understood- Health related- Performance toward a target- Trends (are things getting better / worse?)- Comparable internationally
Policy, PlanningAnd
ManagementMetrics
Key Indicators
Science Program Reporting- Assessments, technical, science-based - Examples: GHG Inventory, State of the Air, Ecosystem Status & Trends, CCME Water Task Group
INDICATORS
Attributes of Core Indicators- Authoritative measures- Status and trends- Basis for comparison
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Key indicators: Criteria for selection
• User relevance – Simple, understandable and easy to interpret by target audience
• Policy relevance – Monitor key outcomes of environmental policy and legislation, and inform
on familiar issues to the public
• Analytical validity – Accurate whether based on scientific, community or traditional
knowledge. Data are credible and robust and the methodologies have integrity
• Measurability– Long term, derived from information collected in a comparable manner
from year to year. Information will be available in the future and show reliability over time
• Cost effectiveness– Require limited numbers of parameters to be established and simple to
monitor, regular monitoring is in place
INDICATORS
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Web-based delivery: SoE reporting based on a high profile web presence
• Shift from lengthy, descriptive reports to a dynamic online information source ensuring access to the most up-to-date information
• Window to My Environment with functionality including:
– Customizable dashboard to environmental information
– User ability to select indicators, functionality and scalability ▪ mapping, searching, viewing: my city, my indicator
– Links to information at various scales ▪ local, provincial / territorial information
– Address fundamental user needs question ▪ “How are we doing and what can I do?”
WEB-BASED DELIVERY
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CESI renewal provides the basis for next generation SoE reporting
• CESI provides the foundation of core indicators – Established consistent base of environmental quality information over last 4 yrs
– Public and stakeholder support for CESI-like effort to provide key environmental information
• A transparent consultative process used to developed a path forward– User needs – Canadians, stakeholders, internal decision-makers
– Diagnostique – best practices, lessons learned, international analysis, historical reviews, workshops, senior level consultations
• CESI 2008 report will begin transition to new SoE reporting vision – Providing more trends, access to site level information, better integration of
socio-economic information
– Enhanced web-based reporting