8/7/2019 Indicators for Sustainable Development in Israel - Second Phase. 2009
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Editors
Moti Kaplan, Amir Eidelman, Galit Cohen
Jerusalem
2009
Indicators for SustainableDevelopment in Israel
Second Phase
The Environmental Policy Center Policy and Planning Division
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Steering Committee
Valerie Brachya , Ministry o Environmental Protection
Pnina Zadka , Central Bureau o Statistics
Pro. Eran Feitelson , Hebrew University o Jerusalem
Project CoordinationGalit Hazan, Jerusalem Institute or Israel Studies
Writing o the Document
Moti Kaplan Regional and Environmental
PlanningArch. Naama Ringel
Shira Buckwald
Rebecca WolpeNirit Vitman
Liora Hami-Cohen
Sarit Caspi-Oron
Edith Molot
Central Bureau o StatisticsIdit Gajst
Amit Yagur-Kroll
Dr. Moshe Yanai
Roee Abudi
Pareto Engineering Ltd.Dr. Doron Lavee
Sadan-Lowenthal, ConsultantsRuth Lowenthal
Transport Today and TomorrowDr. Karl Martens
Avital Shechter
Jerusalem Institute or Israel StudiesMichal Korach
Scientic Advice
Dr. Yeshayahu Bar-Or, Chie Scientist, Ministry o
Environmental Protection
Dr. Amos Bein, Hydrology
Dr. Meir Ben Zvi, Hydrology
Pro. Arza Churchman, Environmental Psychology
Ran Haklai, Economics
Ziona Haklai, Health
Gideon Hashimshoni, Transport
Dr. Jean Koch, Air Quality
Einat Meged, Transport
Arch. Dina Rachevsky, Planning
Dr. Emanuel Sharon, Economics
Pro. Uri Shamir, Water Quality
Pro. Ilan Solomon, Transport
Michael Zaide, Water Quality
Language Editing
Ronit Rahav
Ella Omer
Printing and ProductionPublication and Inormation Division, Ministry o
Environmental Protection
Design and Typesetting
Rami and Jaki Studio
Translation to English
Shoshana Gabbay
The document is available at:
www.sviva.gov.il
www.jiis.org.il
www.cbs.gov.il
Copyrights belong to the Ministry o Environmental
Protection, the Central Bureau o Statistics and the
Jerusalem Israel or Israel Studies.
Parts o this document may be cited and copied orresearch, educational and policy purposes, provided
ull credit is given to the source.
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1. Introduction
Sustainable development policy in Israel aims to
respond to the development needs o a progressive,
modern and egalitarian society, while preserving vital
spatial and environmental resources.
The policy is designed to accommodate a growing
population and a continuous rise in standard o living,
while wisely and eciently utilizing the country's
resources and assuring opportunities and services
to the weakest population groups; to allocate space
or development and building while conserving
land resources, especially high quality and sensitive
ones; to meet the annual demand or water while
preserving the quality o dierent water sources and
assuring their quantity and continuation or uture
generations; and to meet the needs o industry,
transport and energy production while maintaining
air quality or the pleasure and health o the generalpopulation.
Indicators are expected to help assess the
environmental implications o development trends
and to test whether they advance or contradict
sustainable development policy. Indicators also help
to check whether development takes into account
the scarcity and vulnerability o environmental
resources and uses them cautiously and prudently, or
needlessly depletes them. One o the main aims o the
indicators is to set "red lights" in those areas in which
discerned trends substantially contradict sustainabledevelopment principles. The role o indicators is to
guide human actions so that most o the resources
remain or present and uture generations and to
assure well-being and ample opportunities to the
general public, including the weaker sectors o the
population.
The process o ormulating sustainable development
indicators in Israel began with discussions about
the nature o such indicators, their compilation
rom dierent sources and their appropriateness to
conditions in Israel. A range o experts rom dierentdisciplines participated in the discussions and
reviewed development trends and indicators that
would be most suitable or depicting trends in Israel.
A report entitled "Sustainable Development Indicators
in Israel, Summary Report Phase I " rst proposed a
series o indicators, some o which were based on
international sources ollowing adaptation to Israel's
needs, and some o which were developed rom the
outset to respond to Israel's unique conditions.
Although Israel resembles developed Western
countries, it nevertheless diers rom them in
term o its dimensions, physical conditions, rate
o development and way o lie. The accelerated
development which the country has witnessed over
the past 60 years is essentially unmatched in Western
countries. Israel's population grew more than tenold
rom the time the state was rst established, and
massive development was needed to respond to
such accelerated growth in terms o built-up area,
industry, inrastructure development and utilization oscarce land and water sources.
Alongside the emphasis placed on environmental
aspects and the need to leave resources or uture
generations, indicators were also chosen to reveal
social and economic trends. Concern or the weaker
sectors o the population and prevention o poverty
and economic deterioration are signicant directions
in achieving sustainable development and are
represented by a specic series o indicators.
The current document presents ten indicators which
are based on the rst phase report. These indicators
were selected to represent the groups established in
Agenda 21 in the social, environmental and economic
realms, with the exception o the institutional realm.
The rst two phases o the project represent the
beginning o an extended process o ormulating a
comprehensive, dynamic and up to date system o
indicators. This system will serve as a tool or policy
makers, government bodies and the environmental
administration in monitoring the success and
eectiveness o trends in achieving sustainable
development.
I. BACKGROUND
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2. Indicators or SustainableDevelopment in Western Countries
Indicators or sustainable development are signs
which help to reveal development trends and show
to what extent they correspond to or contradict the
advancement o sustainable development.Indicators examine pressures on environmental
resources and their causes and help indicate
possibilities or reducing these pressures eciently.
They are designed in such a way as to present the
current state and trends o change in relation to long
term targets. In this way, they serve as more than
a monitoring measure but also as a tool or policy
ormulation by decision makers.
Indicator systems or sustainable development have
been developed throughout the world, each with
its own emphasis. Following is a summary o somerepresentative indicator systems.
2.1. Environmental Indicator System or
the European Union Countries EEAThe European Environment Agency (EEA) is a
scientic body ounded to monitor environmental
trends in Europe. This agency produces, among
others, comprehensive reports once every ve years,
beginning with 1994. The reports survey subjects
related to policy setting in European countries as a
whole and monitor the implementation o EuropeanUnion (EU) guidelines. The EEA report denes priority
areas or monitoring: climate change, nature and
biodiversity, environment, health and quality o lie,
natural resources and waste.
Trends in EU states ocus on the ollowing subjects:
Environmental aspects o consumption patterns
and steps to restrain over-consumption.
Scope and manner o use o global resources, not
only local consumption.
Depletion o the earth's natural capital anddamage to natural systems.
Review o dispersed pollution sources and their
mitigation.
Conronting natural and man-made hazards in
natural systems.
A comparison between European states was made
on the basis o 37 environmental indicators. The
description o each indicator begins with a relevant
policy question and continues by speciying
the context o decision making in each area
(environmental legislation, environmental decisions,
etc.). A comparison between the states is then
presented in relation to target achievement in nine
main environmental areas, including: greenhouse gas
emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy, air
pollution, ozone depletion, reight transport demand,
organic agriculture, municipal waste and greywater
use. Based on the ndings and on the analysis o the
indicators, eight areas which call or a change in policy
were identied: reducing household consumption,
EU expansion, abating biodiversity loss, promoting
sustainable use and management o natural resources,
integrated policy, increased ocus on climate change,
greater attention to the global environment and
increased emphasis on the link between environment
and health.
The report also denes the desirable targets or the
next report and the progress achieved in meeting
the targets in relation to environmental conventions,
oremost among which is the Kyoto Protocol.
2.2. Indicator Development in the OECD
FrameworkAccording to the Organization or Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), environmental
indicators on their own are not eective in reducing
the driving orces responsible or environmental
deterioration. The basic assumption is that human
activity puts pressure on the environment and that
this pressure may harm environmental, economicand social systems. Thereore, policy should relate to
human activities and respond to these changes.
In order to identiy trends in dierent areas, a system
o indicators was dened to check driving orces and
indicate areas in which intervention could bring about
a change in undesirable trends.
Within this ramework three categories were dened
pressure, state and response (PSR).
Pressure Indicators to identiy environmental
and human responses to the pressure created.
State Indicators to identiy processes which
create undesirable environmental impacts.
Response Indicators to examine changes in the
state o the environment in light o implemented
policy and measures.
Five sets o indicators were dened, each integrated
within the other. Each set o indicators corresponds
to a specic goal and audience. The ollowing table
presents the ve sets o indicators, their unction,
target audience and goal:
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Key
Indicators
Core Indicators Sectoral
Indicators
Indicators
Derived rom
Environmental
Accounting
Decoupling
Environmental
Indicators
Function in
the System
Inorming the
public
Tracking
environmental
progress
Promoting integration Monitoring
progress toward
sustainable
development
Target
Audience
Public and
high ranking
decision
makers
Governments
and
environmental
decision makers
Governments and decision makers in dierent sectors
Features and
Scope
Used or
international
comparison
Used or decision making on the national and sectoral levels
Key Indicatorsa. include a limited set o
indicators vital or identiying the main environmental
trends. This set is composed o ten indicators related
to pollution and natural resources and assets:
Issues relating to pollution include climate
change, ozone layer, air quality, waste recycling
and water quality. The ve corresponding
indicators are: carbon dioxide emissions,
consumption o ozone depleting substances,
emissions o nitrogen and sulur compounds,
waste recycling in local authorities and extent o
wastewater treatment.
Issues relating to natural resources and assets
include water resources, orest resources, shing
resources, energy resources and biodiversity. The
ve corresponding indicators are: intensity o
water resource use, intensity o orest resource
use, intensity o shing resource use, intensity o
energy use and endangered species.
Each o these indicators constitutes a subsystem o
several indicators which deal with the same issue.
Thus, or example, the indicator or carbon dioxide
emissions is made up o emissions per capita,
emissions per gross domestic product and rate o
change in emissions since 1980.
Core Indicatorsb. include the key indicators
plus additional environmental indicators. This group
represents a wider range o environmental subjects
which relate to most o the member states in the
organization. However, this set only includes some40-50 indicators. Climate change, or example,
is represented in the key indicator category by
the indicator o carbon dioxide emissions. In the
core indicators, climate change includes several
indicators which are categorized according to the
PSR ramework. The indicator used to measure the
pressure on the environment which causes climate
change is greenhouse gases emissions, which is
composed o emissions o CO2, CH
4, N
2O, PFC, HFC
and SF6. The indicators used to measure the state o
the environment in relation to climate change aregreenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere
and the global means temperature. The indicator used
to measure response relating to climate change is
eciency o energy use which is composed o the rate
o energy use and economic and scal instruments.
Sectoral Indicatorsc. give expression to the
interdisciplinary aspect o sustainable development.
This set o indicators is the only one to measure
aspects which go beyond environmental aspects
and to examine the links between them and the
environment.
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Environmental Accounting Indicatorsd.
utilize physical natural resource accounts as well as
environmental expenditure accounts.
Decoupling Environmental Indicatorse.
measure the decoupling o the long-term link
between economic progress and exploitation and
deterioration o environmental resources. Theseindicators examine this decoupling on the macro level
and the sector level.
Initially, the OECD environmental indicators were
only perceived as a system or environmental review,
but economic and social indicators were eventually
added. Attempts were also made to examine the links
between justice, poverty and environmental state,
on the one hand, and consumption patterns and
unsustainable production, on the other hand.
OECD Environmental Outlook: Forecast or
2020 on the Basis o the Indicators
OECD was the rst organization to develop a system
o indicators or sustainable development. In 2001, the
organization published a orecast on the state o the
environment in developed countries or 2020. Based
on the indicators, this orecast was meant to discernsectors in which improvement was needed and to
dene ways in which to eect such improvement.
The indicator-based environmental outlook was
divided into three levels which are graphically
represented by trac light signals: A green light
signies the possibility o "proceeding cautiously";
a yellow light signies that urther review is needed
to assess the trends and their signicance and to
establish environmental policy; and a red light
signies a negative state which calls or changing the
discerned trends and taking urgent action.
Signals o the OECD Environmental Outlook
Green Light Yellow Light Red Light
Pressures on theEnvironment
Industrial point sourcepollution
Some air pollutants
Water use
Toxic emissions romindustry
Hazardous wastegeneration
Energy production anduse
Agricultural pollution
Over-shing
Greenhouse gas
emissionsMotor vehicle andaviation air pollutionemissions
Municipal wastegeneration
State o theEnvironment
Forest coverage Surace water quality
Forest quality
Ozone layer integrity
Biodiversity
Tropical orest coverage
Fish stocks
Groundwater quality
Urban air quality
Climate change
Chemicals in theenvironment
Societal Response "Green" purchasing
"Green" agriculture
Protected areas
Resource eciency
Energy eciency
Biotechnology
Forest plantations
Aquaculture
Energy and transporttechnologies
Waste management
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2.3. Developing Indicators in the UNCSD:
Division into Four Areas
Corresponding to Agenda 21The UN Commission or Sustainable Development
(UNCSD) was established in the atermath o the 1992
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In 1995 it called or
developing a system o indicators in our areas denedin Agenda 21: economy, society, environment and
institutional organization.
The work plan o the UNCSD included three dierent
stages. In the rst stage, a list o 134 indicators was
ormulated which were characterized by the Driving
Force-State-Response (DSR) ramework, which
improves on the PSR ramework. The PSR method was
originally developed by the OECD when the concept
o sustainable development was still in its inancy
and largely ocused on environmental indicators. In
the improved ramework, D, which stands or drivingorce, substitutes or P, which denotes environmental
pressure. This change refects the wider reerence
to the economic and social aspects o sustainable
development. In the second stage, 22 countries were
chosen as pilots or testing the indicators. In the third
stage, in light o the pilot's lessons, a nal list o 58
indicators was ormulated in 2001. While constituting
an improvement over the rst list, these indicators
cannot be implemented in every state. Adaptation
and ormulation o dierent or complementary
indicators is needed or dierent countries.Despite the limitations and disadvantages o the
UNCSD indicator system, it constitutes the most
widespread basis or discussion and review o
sustainable development indicators in the world
today.
Indicator Development or Mediterranean
States UNEP-MAP Blue PlanThe indicator system o the Blue Plan specically
relates to Mediterranean coastal countries. The Blue
Plan ormulated a list o 130 indicators divided intosix sectoral rameworks which are derived rom the
guidelines o Agenda 21: population and society,
territory and human settlement, economic activity
and sustainability, environmental quality, sustainable
development - players and policy, and cooperation in
the Mediterranean region. The indicators are based
on the PSR ramework. Their innovation lies in their
classication according to an additional section, the
geographical scale regional, national, coastal and
site location. For example, indicators on marine and
coastal issues are classied according to the ollowing
spatial scale:
National Levela.
Indicator number 32: Coastal erosion
Defnition:The length o a given coastal strip
undergoing erosion, whether manmade or natural,
expressed as a percentage o the total coastal strip.
Methodological description: Erosion is a natural
phenomenon which occurs to dierent degreesin some Mediterranean coasts. The main causes o
this phenomenon are seawater, wave intensity and
marine currents. The eect changes according to the
eatures o the coast (rocky or sandy). As a result o
this erosion, the coastal line recedes, with the most
severe maniestation in river estuaries. Calculation o
the indicator depends on available sources in each
country and on means o identiying coastal line
changes.
Coastal Area Levelb.
Indicator 33: Protected coastal area
Defnition:The total o protected areas in a specic
year, which include coastal ecosystems (continental
and marine).
Methodological description: National legislation
exists in all countries regarding the protection
o natural heritage. For the sake o comparison,
protected areas are listed under categories dened
by the International Union or Conservation o
Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). IUCN denes
six categories o protected areas in two groups: ully
protected areas natural reserves, national parks
and natural monuments; partially protected areas
habitats, protected land and marine landscapes and
protected resource management zones.
Out o all o these areas, the total protected areas
in the country which include a coastal segment are
totaled.
In addition to these 130 indicators, the Blue Plan also
developed a more limited system o 34 indicators to
monitor sustainable development progress in the
Mediterranean region, within the ramework o theMediterranean Strategy or Sustainable Development.
The strategy responds to our targets (parallel to the
distribution o indicators in the CSD: economy, society,
environment and institutional) and is composed
o seven sectors (water, energy, transport, tourism,
agriculture, urban development and coastal areas).
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2.4. Aggregative Index (ESI)This index refects a totality o actors and their
interrelationships which impact on sustainable
development. The index enables a comparison
between countries and their ranking in relation to
one another. The disadvantage o this index lies in
the diculty to develop a single indicator which
accurately refects a complex state. An example o
such an aggregative index is the Environmental
Sustainability Index o the World Economic Forum. In
2005, the ESI ranked Israel in the 62nd place among
146 nations, with a score o 50.9, due to the intense
pressures on land and water. In comparison, Finland
was ranked rst with a score o 75.1 and North Korea
last with a score o 29.2.
3. Development o Indicators in Israel
3.1. Indicator SelectionIn the current phase, indicators are presented as a rststep in the process o ormulating a comprehensive
system o indicators or sustainable development in
Israel. The indicators were ormulated on the basis o
a proposal included in the rst phase o this project,
based on available data in the Central Bureau o
Statistics.
Indicator selection was based on a comprehensive
review o studies carried out in dierent rameworks
and according to the ollowing considerations:
Recommendations o the rst stage o theproject which were based on thematic
background papers.
Existence o an available and reliable database
or the analysis o the indicator.
Correspondence to the Blue Plan indicators.
Indicators recommended within the ramework
o a committee to review Israel's sustainable
development strategy.
The indicators were classied according to six subjects
established or the UNCSD system: economic growth,
level o social and environmental equity in the present
generation, capacity to cope with environmental
issues, protection o the interests o uture
generations, eciency o natural resource utilization
and quality o lie o the present generation.
3.2. Methodology or Indicator AnalysisThe indicators in this report encompass a wide
range o subjects which represent dierent areas o
sustainable development. The dierences and variety
o the indicators call or standardization o the process
or two primary reasons:
Ability to compare between the indicators andobjectively track trends in each area.
Establishment o a basis or comparison between
indicator systems in Israel and worldwide
Each o the indicators is described in detail
according to the ollowing sections:
Nature o the IndicatorA short introduction including a description o the
indicator, the ways in which it will identiy changes in
direction and trends, the indications or these changes
and the signicance o the indicator or sustainable
development.
DatabaseDenition: Denition o the basic concepts and terms
related to the data used or indicator analysis.
Data Source: A reliable and timely source o data is
a prerequisite and basis or an indicator system. For
the most part, the data sources in this project are
data compiled and produced by the Central Bureau
o Statistics (CBS). These data encompass dierentsubjects and some are provided to the CBS by external
sources (Hydrological Service, JNF-KKL and others).
In a ew cases, when CBS data were missing, other
sources were used.
Collection and Calculation Method: Specication,
as ar as possible, o collection methods, sampling
methods and data processing and analysis.
Data Limitations: Extent o compatibility o
the measured data with the description o the
phenomenon, limitations in assembling the samples,
errors in sampling and data collection, inconsistentand irregular data collection, limited time period or
data collection, etc. weaken the link between the
collected data and the examined phenomenon.
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Indicator AnalysisDiscernible Trends:The results were presented as a
time series, based on the availability o the data over
the years. This allowed or a depiction o the changes
and trends in the specic area over time.
Reasons and Explanations or the Trends: This
section seeks to explain the changes which occurredin a specic area. When man-made, these changes are
meant to indicate the link or the infuence between
human activity and the trend.
Sustainable DevelopmentLink between the indicator and sustainable
development:This section relates to the indicators
according to their classication into environmental,
economic and social groups.
In the environmental realm, the link between the
trends and the environmental phenomena is sought:is it stable, improved, deteriorating?
In the economic realm, the results indicate the
economic level o individuals in society and the
economic growth in given time periods.
In the social realm, the ocus is on identiying
well-being and quality o lie, inequality and gaps,
especially where costs would be imposed on the
weaker sectors o society and where benets would
be reaped by a small group.
Data limitations related to sustainabledevelopment: Indicators generally reveal a specic
direction which refects the general trend in a dened
subject. However, since sustainable development
encompasses wide-ranging activities and conditions,
which are all interrelated, identiying a specic trend
may well indicate a direction in this specic realm but
not a general direction. This is the main weakness o
the indicator system. Thereore, a more systematic
vision based on the observation o a series o
indicators is needed in order to gain a comprehensive
view. This section ocuses and species the limitations
in each subject.
Linkage to other indicatorsOne indicator is requently insucient to describe a
trend, even in a single and dened subject. Several
indicators, covering dierent aspects or parts o a
certain subject, are necessary in order to understand
the trend. This section species the additional
indicators which are needed to complete the general
picture in a specic subject.
Recommendations or improving the
indicator and urthering its developmentOn the basis o the results, a series o
recommendations was dened, whether on the
urther development o the specic indicator or
analysis o additional indicators necessary to complete
the picture. Where possible, recommendations were
also made on processes to change the trend.
4. Continuation o the ProcessIndicators were dened which are unique to the
conditions o the country and refect its specic
problems and needs. Thus, or example, an indicator
which depicts trends on open space in Israel, a
country characterized by land scarcity, is o upmost
importance. On the other hand, this indicator would
be o low importance in land-rich and sparsely
populated countries. Similarly, indicators which
monitor basic conditions o well-being such as accessto drinking water and health services would be o
high importance in the Third World but o lesser
importance in wealthy countries in which the entire
population enjoys such services.
A major consideration in the rst phase o this project
was the need to develop a methodology or an
indicator system which is adapted to Israel's unique
needs, both because o the lack o databases and
due to the inappropriateness o some international
indicators rom the Israeli perspective.
Attention should now be ocused on preparing a
long range plan or the development o an indicator
system which would refect Israel's unique conditions.
Israel's economy is likely to continue to grow over
the next decades. Increased development pressures,
depletion o land and water resources and damage
to biodiversity present the risk o irreversible
deterioration, at the expense o uture generations.
This report recommends that completion o
the databases or the indicators which describe
environmental deterioration in all areas should be a
top priority in the development o an indicator system
or sustainable development in Israel.
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1. Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is dened as the
total market value o all nal goods and services
produced in a given period o time beore subtracting
depreciation o capital stock and including net
value added tax. GDP includes three components:expenditure or private and public consumption,
gross investment (private and public) and net
export o goods and services. GDP is an indication
o the size o the economy, but in order to check the
economic well-being o residents, GDP is divided
by the total population to get an average value o
GDP per capita. GDP per capita is generally used as a
basis or comparison o standard o living in dierent
economies.
An analysis o GDP per capita in Israel between
the years 1950 to 2005 shows an almost constant
increase, with some periods o decline, largely due
to social and political actors on the national and
international levels. High GDP per capital is one o
the basic conditions or sustainable development and
constitutes an indicator o the personal economiclevel o individuals in society. However, while GDP
per capita is a principal indicator o the capacity o
an economy to manage processes o sustainable
development, it does not identiy processes which
contradict sustainable development principles.
Additional environmental and social indicators
would be needed to complement the ndings o this
indicator. Alternatively, a green accounting system,
such as the System o Environmental and Economic
Accounts (SEEA) could be developed.
II. INDICATORS
FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN ISRAEL
Figure 1: GDP per capita in Israel between 1950-2006
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
Calculation method until 1994 Calculation method since 1995
12
GDPpercapitainshekels
Year
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2. Ratio o External Debt to GDP
The external debt to GDP ratio refects the net debts
o the economy, including current and accumulated
debts, less assets. A growth in external debt signies
that the economy consumes more than it produces
and needs external sources. The external debt/GDPratio indicates an economy's ability to service its
external debt and pay it back and also refects the
economy's risk level.
In Israel the external debt to GDP ratio declined until
1961 and then increased until 1985. It grew rom
only 10% in the late 1960s to 56% in 1984. The ratio
declined somewhat to a level o 50% in 1991 and then
gradually increased. In 2004, the ratio reached a new
peak o 62%.
In general, a higher ratio between external debt
and GDP contradicts the principles o sustainable
development. This is especially true when the
debt is used or present consumption. However, i
external debt is increased to help und development
and investments, the sustainable development
implications are not so clear-cut. Investments inthe present will also serve uture generations,
even with the added debt. At the same time, the
investments themselves should be analyzed, with the
understanding that long-term investments would be
the ones to benet uture generations.
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
Figure 2: Ratio o External Debt to GDP
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
13
Rateoexterna
ldebttoGDP(%)
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3. Expenditure on Food out of the TotalIncome of Households (by Deciles)
This indicator largely refects intragenerational
equity and provides a partial picture o the gaps
between dierent population groups. A household
which expends most o its income on ood will haveless income to purchase goods and services such as
education, culture and health. This may create a cycle
o poverty which prevents equal opportunities or
uture generations as well.
In 2003, the rate o ood expenditure out o a
household's total income in the lowest decile was
52%, in the th decile 21% and in the top decile
11%. Analysis o the changes in the rate o ood
expenditure between 1992/93 and 2002/3 shows
an average 20% reduction in ood expenditure, with
higher expenditure in the lower decile. Trends reveal a
growing gap in the rate o ood expenditure between
the lower and higher deciles, testiying to the growth
in income gaps and inequities between the deciles.
These trends contradict one o the main goals o
sustainable development - reducing intragenerational
inequity.
Figure 3: Rate o Expenditure on Food out o the Total Income by Income Deciles
in the Years 1992/93, 2003
1992/93 2003
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
Figure 4: Disposable Income ater Deducting Expenditure on Food or the Household,
by Income Deciles, 2003
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
14
5,000
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1,345
2,8663,655
4,5665,738
7,2828,608
9,878
12,368
18,711
10,000
15,000
20,000
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
47
52
37 37
3330 31
2427
2123
1923
1720
1517
1412 11
(Highest)
Rateoexpenditureon
oodoutototalinc
ome
(Lowest)
Decile
Disposablehousholdincome
(NIS)
(Highest)(Lowest)
Decile
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4. Motorization Rate Number oVehicles or 1,000 Inhabitants
The motorization rate is dened as the number o
passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants and is a common
indicator in international comparisons o economic
development and environmental issues. A highmotorization rate corresponds with a high level o
economic development and quality o lie. On the
other hand, increased numbers o cars are a burden
on the environment associated with extensive use
o energy sources, local and global air pollution, and
development o road networks which encroach on
public space and ragment natural habitats.
Between 1951 and 2004, Israel's motorization rate
increased rom 6 vehicles to 228 vehicles per 1,000
residents. A 300% increase was noted between 1960
and 1969 and a 111% increase between 1970 and
1979.
In terms o sustainable development, a high
motorization rate is associated with air pollution
in urban areas which is accompanied by extensive
energy use, noise, urban heat island eect and roadcongestion as well as loss o open space as a result
o road inrastructure development. The growth o
suburbanization is also associated with increased
use o private cars because o the inability o public
transportation to service suburban residents. The
success o a sustainable policy will largely be
measured by its ability to divert a share o kilometers
traveled in private vehicles to public transportation so
as to diminish the burden on the environment.
Figure 5: Motorization Rate in Israel between 1950-2004
0
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
50
100
150
200
250
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
15
No.ovehic
lesper1,0
00inhabitants
Year
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5. Car Ownership Levelsby Income Deciles
The level o car ownership per income decile is an
additional indicator o intragenerational inequity.
Dierences in car ownership levels refect not only
dierences in economic status but also dierences inaccess to opportunities and vital destinations.
Car ownership levels in Israel dier substantially
between income deciles. In 1986/7, only 8% o all
households in the lowest income decile owned a
car compared to 78% in the highest income decile.
The rate o car ownership increased among all
income deciles in the 1990s and early 2000s, with
higher growth rates in the lower income deciles,
which reduced this inequity. In 2003, 20% o the
households in the lowest income decile owned a car
in comparison to 90% in the highest income decile.
Gap reduction in car ownership levels in the various
income deciles is compatible with one o the main
goals o sustainable development intragenerational
equity since it increases equal opportunity and
provides access to all areas o lie: employment, trade,residence, open space and more. However, increased
car ownership and use also increase pressures on the
environment. The orecast is or car ownership rates
in the lower income deciles to rise and inequity to be
reduced. This trend necessitates parallel activities to
promote the use o public transportation and restrain,
as much as possible, the use o private cars, largely
through improved availability and reliability o public
transport.
Figure 6: Rate o Car Ownership by Deciles in Israel, in percentages, in 1986/87 and 2003
50
40
30
20
10
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
100
90
80
70
60
1986/87 2003
20
8
14
33
24
36
30
46
38
54
44
54
57
73
63
73 74
83
78
90
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
16
Rateocarownership
(Highest)(Lowest)
Decile
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6. Lie Expectancy at Birth
Lie expectancy at birth, dened as the average
number o years that a person is expected to live, is
an indicator or public health. It is also an accepted
indirect indicator or the population's standard
o living and its awareness o health promotion.
In developed societies, the constant rise in lie
expectancy is the result o a decline in inant mortality,
reduction in inectious diseases and signicant
reduction in degenerative diseases.
In 2003, lie expectancy or women in Israel reached
81.9 years (compared to 73.4 years in 1971) and
or men 77.7 years (compared to 70.1 in 1971). Lie
expectancy in Israel has increased steadily among
both sexes, maintaining and even slightly expanding
the gap between the sexes. One o the main
consequences o the growth in lie expectancy is an
increase in the adult population, which may be more
exposed to chronic diseases and disability.
Sustainable health ocuses both on the prevention odisease in the uture and on the promotion o health
or the individual and society in the present. This
approach complies with the target o "Health or All"
which was declared by the World Health Organization
in 1986. It emphasizes prolonging lie, improving
health, increasing people's control over their health
and achieving equity in health and health services.
Figure 8: Inant Mortality in Israel, Rate per 1,000 Live Births, 1971-2003
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
Figure 7: Lie Expectancy by Sex and Diference in 1971-2003
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
Women Men Diference
17
40
20
0
100
80
60
1970
2
1
0
5
4
3
1975 1974 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Lieexpectancyinyears
Year
20
10
0
30
1971 1975 1979 1983 1991 1995 1999 20031987Rateoinantmortalityper1,0
00
livebirths
Year
Diferenceinyears
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7. Energy Consumption
Energy is the driving orce o the economic
production system in every modern economy. A rise
in energy consumption is an indicator o economic
development and growth. However, increased energy
consumption also has a negative external eect.
It is associated with environmental deterioration,
including greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution
and natural resources depletion. The major challenge
o sustainable development is to enable economic
growth through gains in energy eciency, by means
o such measures as conservation.
Primary energy supply in Israel rose rom 5,000
thousand tons o oil equivalent (TOE) in 1970 to
20,000 in 2004, an annual increase o 4.16%. During
the same period Israel's population grew rom 3
million to 6.9 million an average annual increase
o 2.48%. Thus the average increase in energy
consumption per capita rose rom 1.7 TOE in 1970 to 3
TOE in 2004, an average annual rise o 2%.
Energy consumption is associated with increased
use o non-renewable materials which diminish the
natural resources available to uture generations.It also creates byproducts with negative external
impacts air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions
that threaten to damage the quality o lie o uture
generations. Increased energy use is responsible
or a rise in energy prices and is unequally divided
among the dierent segments o the population. In
addition energy consumption which is based on ossil
uels increases Israel's dependence on imports and
increases the national external debt, thus imposing an
economic burden on uture generations.
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
Figure 9: Primary Energy Supply in Israel in 1970-2004
Figure 10 : Energy Consumption per Capita in Israel in 1970-2004
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics
18
Year
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Tonso
OilEquivalent(thousands)
1.5
1.7
1.9
2.1
2.3
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.3
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
Year
TonoOilEquivalent
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8. CO2
Emissions
Scientists have linked global warming and climate
change to an increase in greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, and especially to an increase in carbon
dioxide (CO2) concentrations. Global warming is now
considered to be the primary environmental hazard,
with impacts on both the economy and society. This
indicator measures the level o CO2
emissions per
capita in Israel.
Total emissions o CO2in Israel in 2003 were 63, 729
tons, a 4% rise compared to 2000 and a 23% increase
rom 1996. Emissions rom uel combustion account
or 97% o the total emissions. CO2
emissions per
capita in Israel in the years 1996, 2000 and 2003 were
9.12, 9.7 and 9.53 tons respectively. These statistics
demonstrate a rise o 6% rom 1996 to 2000 and a
decline o 2% rom 2000 to 2003. A sharp increase
in CO2
emissions was recorded in Israel in recent
decades, which has been moderated since 1997. A
similar trend characterized emissions per capita, with
a moderate decline since 1999, reaching about 10 tons
per capita in 2004.
While Israel's contribution to total global emissions
is small, its emissions per capita rank it relatively
high among many developed Western countries.On the assumption that Israel's economic growth
will continue in coming years, under a business as
usual scenario, energy demand will concomitantly
rise bringing in its wake increases in CO2
emissions.
This rise will continue as long as Israel uses ossil
uels or energy production and transportation. A
switch to natural gas use or electricity production
and transportation, along with renewable energy
development, energy eciency and conservation,
may moderate or even reverse the trend o increasing
levels o CO2
emissions per capita.
Figure 11: CO2
Emissions rom Fuel Combustion Total and per Capita Emissions
Source: Central Bureau o Statistics and Air Quality Division, Ministry o Environmental Protection
19
1980
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
01984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004
Emissions per capita Total emissions
Tonspercapita
Year
Tons
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9. Open Space per District
Open spaces include natural, landscape and heritage
values and serve as green lungs and recreation and
leisure areas or Israel's population. Development
pressures have reduced the quantity and quality o
open spaces in Israel.
In the ve year period between1998-2003, the largest
area o open space was detracted rom the three
districts which are characterized by the widest open
expanses in Israel: the Central, Northern and Southern
Districts. In the remaining districts, Haia, Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem (which are more metropolitan in character),
the open space area converted to built-up area was
relatively limited. The largest area o open space to be
converted to built-up space was in the Central District
due to growing demand or building and the growth
o suburbanization processes in the vicinity o the Tel
Aviv metropolitan area.
A decrease in the scope o open space threatens
ecosystems, environmental health and the public's
right to enjoy natural, landscape and heritage assets.
Figure 12: Scope o Open Space (Dunam) Converted to Built Area in Each District
between 1998-2003
Figure 13: Percent o Open Space Converted to Built Space out o the Total District Area
between 1998-2003
Source: Moti Kaplan Regional and Environmental Planning
Source: Moti Kaplan Regional and Environmental Planning
20
2,000
0
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
North Haia Center Tel Aviv Jerusalem South
Districts o Ministry o Interior
Area(
dunam)
Scope o open space converted to built space
0.2%
0%
0.4%
0.6%
0.8%
1.0%
1.2%
1.4%
0.24%
0.48%
1.15%
0.85%
0.37%
0.05%
0.24%
North Haifa Center Tel Aviv Jerusalem South Total
Districts o Ministry o Interior
Percentototalarea
odistrict
Percent o open space converted to built space
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10. Salinity o Groundwaterin the Coastal Aquierand Mountain Aquier
Salinity o groundwater indicates the quality o
groundwater and reveals the state o Israel's main
groundwater reservoirs. The indicator providesinormation about these water resources and their
changes over time as a unction o water resource
management including pumping, inltration to
groundwater and land use above aquiers.
There is no clear trend o change in water salinity
in the mountain aquier and average chloride
concentrations range between 130-164 mg/l. In the
coastal aquier a clear trend o increased salinity has
been recorded, with an average increase o 2 mg/l a
year, rom 112 mg/l in 1957 to 198 mg/l in 2005.
Water salinity increases due to the lowering o
water levels and reduction o drainage to sea, the
inltration o water which is more saline than the
natural replenishment water, the use o ertilizersand pollutant accumulation in the soil and the range
o activities which recycle water and bring about
the increased salinity o irrigation waters and salt
accumulation in the soil. Salinity, thereore, reduces
the volume o renewable water which is at the
disposal o the population and damages sensitive
agricultural crops.
Figure 14: Salinity o the Coastal Aquier and the Mountain Aquier, 1957-2005
1955 1 960 1 965 1970 1980 1985 1990 20001975
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
20051995
Source: Israel Water Authority
21
Salinity(mgcl/l)
Year
Trend line, Coastal aquierCoastal aquierMountain aquier
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