Make your work easier and more efficient installing the rrojasdatabank  toolbar ( you can customize it ) in your browser. 
Counter visits from more than 160  countries and 1400 universities (details)

The political economy of development
This academic site promotes excellence in teaching and researching economics and development, and the advancing of describing, understanding, explaining and theorizing.
About us- Castellano- Français - Dedication
Home- Themes- Reports- Statistics/Search- Lecture notes/News- People's Century- Puro Chile- Mapuche


World indicators on the environmentWorld Energy Statistics - Time SeriesEconomic inequality
*************************************************************************
This document has been posted online by the United Nations Department for
Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD).  Reproduction and
dissemination of the document - in electronic and/or printed format - is
encouraged, provided acknowledgement is made of the role of the United Nations
in making it available.
************************************************************************
                          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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              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
                                             
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           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.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------
            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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

RRojas Research Unit/1997
TO DOC 1   TO DOC 3                TO TOP