Monitoring the Environment

1
Monitoring the Environment

• The South African case study
• J de Beer

2
Mandate and context

• Statistics Act, 6 of 1999
• Purpose of the Act
• Advance planning, production, analysis,
  documentation, storage, dissemination and use of
  official and other statistics
• Provide for coordination with other organs of
  state (section 5, 7 14)
• Provide for cooperation between producers of
  official statistics
• Role players in the Act
• Minister in the Presidency responsible for
  National Planning Approval of plans
• Statistician-General Producer, Coordinator and
  Certification
• Statistics Council Advisory
• Heads of Organs of State Producer
• Vision Your leading partner in quality
  statistics
• Mission To lead and partner in statistical
  production systems for evidence based
  decisions

3
Statistical production system required

• To raise the profile of statistics in policy
  formulation, planning, monitoring and evaluation
• To address gaps in the statistical production
  process
• Information gap
• Quality gap
• Capacity gap
• To guide and govern statistical production in the
  country

4
Stats SA core areas

• Economic statistics
• Employment
• National Accounts (including Environmental
  Economic Accounts)
• Business cycle
• Government statistics
• Price statistics
• Social and Population statistics
• Household surveys
• Service delivery
• Population Census
• Scattered environment statistics
• By chance
• Module approach to existing surveys

5
Current work programme

• Partnerships
• Memorandum of Understanding with The Presidency
  Dept of Environmental Affairs Energy Mineral
  resources Water Affairs Agriculture, water and
  fisheries
• Inter departmental working groups
• Stats SA publications updated annually
• EEA Water Accounts for South Africa 2000
• EEA Energy Accounts for South Africa, 2002 to
  2006
• EEA Minerals Accounts for South Africa, 1980 to
  2008
• EEA Fisheries Accounts for South Africa, 1990 to
  2008
• International participation
• Opportunities for development, relevance, quality
  improvement
• UNCEEA, London group, Oslo group
• SADC workshops (UNSD support)
• UNECA

6
Importance of environmental info

• Environmental information is becoming
  increasingly important as an assessment tool for
• Main drivers of change
• Identifying trends and
• Responses.
• Environmental information informs
• Public debate
• Policy development and
• Decision-making.

7
Importance of environmental info

• South Africas ecological footprint is higher
  than global average.

8
Linkages
9
Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths
• Formalized agreements
• Expert knowledge in line ministries and
• Existing informal networks.
• Weaknesses
• Limited budget allocations
• Environmental statistics not mainstream priority
• Framework Development for Environmental
  Statistics (FDES) not established within Stats
  SA
• No resources in Stats SA to collect environmental
  data and
• Institutionalization lengthy process preventing
  publishing official reports.

We never know the worth of water till the well is
dry.  Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732
10

• Thank you

Joe de Beer DDG Economic statistics
joedb_at_statssa.gov.za