The Data Needs of UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook (GEO 4)

Intersecretariat Working Group on Environment Statistics, International Work Session on Water Statistics, Vienna, June 20-22, 2005

GEO

A comprehensive global state of the environment report.

Produced using a regional and participatory approach

Input is from a wide range of sources throughout the world including: a network of more than 30 Collaborating Centres, United Nations organizations, and independent experts.

In response to the environmental reporting requirements of Agenda 21 and to UNEP’s GC decision of May 1995:

GEO OBJECTIVES Provide a comprehensive, scientifically-credible, policy-relevant, up-to-

date assessment of, and outlook for, the state of the global environment. Analyze environmental conditions, trends and emerging issues, pressures

and driving forces, primary and secondary effects, environmental values and costs to society, and policy response options and their future implications.

Assess and synthesize the state of knowledge from best available sources, including data and relevant assessments at global and sub-global levels.

Recognize that interaction between science and policy is crucial to identify user needs and ensure the legitimacy, relevance and ownership of assessments.

Online database holds more than 450 different variables, as national, subregional, regional and global statistics or as geospatial data sets (maps)

Covers themes like freshwater, population, forests, emissions, climate, disasters, health and GDP.

Water quality data is available only to 1990.

http://geodata.unep.ch

GEO Data Portal

GEO 1-2-3 Data Gaps• Renewable energy

• Water quality and groundwater resources

• Waste (solid & water, disposal and treatment/management)

• Land degradation

• Oceans (reference data, pollution/health)

• Ecosystems base data (wetlands, etc)

• Population density (times series, urban/rural split)

Anticipated GEO-4 Data Gaps• Governance (environmental policies, conventions and their

effectiveness, including transparency & access to information)• Air emissions, urban air quality and health impact• Exotic/invasive species• Poverty & prosperity• Chemicals exposure & health• Glacier & polar ice melting • Technology use• Environment Peace and security• Targets and reference values• Gender and Environment (disparities)

• Need trend data from all areas of the world.