This data access service is provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), which operates the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
See the ENTRI thematic guide for more information about the relationships between environmental treaties, national resource indicators, and remotely sensed data.
Distr.
GENERAL
A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. III)
14 August 1992
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
(Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992)
Chapter 40
INFORMATION FOR DECISION-MAKING
INTRODUCTION
40.1. In sustainable development, everyone is a user and provider of
information considered in the broad sense. That includes data,
information, appropriately packaged experience and knowledge. The need
for information arises at all levels, from that of senior decision
makers at the national and international levels to the grass-roots and
individual levels. The following two programme areas need to be
implemented to ensure that decisions are based increasingly on sound
information:
(a) Bridging the data gap;
(b) Improving information availability.
PROGRAMME AREAS
A. Bridging the data gap
Basis for action
40.2. While considerable data already exist, as the various sectoral
chapters of Agenda 21 indicate, more and different types of data need
to be collected, at the local, provincial, national and international
levels, indicating the status and trends of the planet's ecosystem,
natural resource, pollution and socio-economic variables. The gap in
the availability, quality, coherence, standardization and accessibility
of data between the developed and the developing world has been
increasing, seriously impairing the capacities of countries to make
informed decisions concerning environment and development.
40.3. There is a general lack of capacity, particularly in developing
countries, and in many areas at the international level, for the
collection and assessment of data, for their transformation into useful
information and for their dissemination. There is also need for
improved coordination among environmental, demographic, social and
developmental data and information activities.
40.4. Commonly used indicators such as the gross national product
(GNP) and measurements of individual resource or pollution flows do not
provide adequate indications of sustainability. Methods for assessing
interactions between different sectoral environmental, demographic,
social and developmental parameters are not sufficiently developed or
applied. Indicators of sustainable development need to be developed to
provide solid bases for decision-making at all levels and to contribute
to a self-regulating sustainability of integrated environment and
development systems.
Objectives
40.5. The following objectives are important:
(a) To achieve more cost-effective and relevant data collection
and assessment by better identification of users, in both the public
and private sectors, and of their information needs at the local,
provincial, national and international levels;
(b) To strengthen local, provincial, national and international
capacity to collect and use multisectoral information in
decision-making processes and to enhance capacities to collect and
analyse data and information for decision-making, particularly in
developing countries;
(c) To develop or strengthen local, provincial, national and
international means of ensuring that planning for sustainable
development in all sectors is based on timely, reliable and usable
information;
(d) To make relevant information accessible in the form and at
the time required to facilitate its use.
Activities
(a) Development of indicators of sustainable development
40.6. Countries at the national level and international governmental
and non-governmental organizations at the international level should
develop the concept of indicators of sustainable development in order
to identify such indicators. In order to promote the increasing use of
some of those indicators in satellite accounts, and eventually in
national accounts, the development of indicators needs to be pursued by
the Statistical Office of the United Nations Secretariat, as it draws
upon evolving experience in this regard.
(b) Promotion of global use of indicators of sustainable development
40.7. Relevant organs and organizations of the United Nations system,
in cooperation with other international governmental, intergovernmental
and non-governmental organizations, should use a suitable set of
sustainable development indicators and indicators related to areas
outside of national jurisdiction, such as the high seas, the upper
atmosphere and outer space. The organs and organizations of the United
Nations system, in coordination with other relevant international
organizations, could provide recommendations for harmonized development
of indicators at the national, regional and global levels, and for
incorporation of a suitable set of these indicators in common,
regularly updated, and widely accessible reports and databases, for use
at the international level, subject to national sovereignty
considerations.
(c) Improvement of data collection and use
40.8. Countries and, upon request, international organizations should
carry out inventories of environmental, resource and developmental
data, based on national/global priorities for the management of
sustainable development. They should determine the gaps and organize
activities to fill those gaps. Within the organs and organizations of
the United Nations system and relevant international organizations,
data-collection activities, including those of Earthwatch and World
Weather Watch, need to be strengthened, especially in the areas of
urban air, freshwater, land resources (including forests and
rangelands), desertification, other habitats, soil degradation,
biodiversity, the high seas and the upper atmosphere. Countries and
international organizations should make use of new techniques of data
collection, including satellite-based remote sensing. In addition to
the strengthening of existing development-related data collection,
special attention needs to be paid to such areas as demographic
factors, urbanization, poverty, health and rights of access to
resources, as well as special groups, including women, indigenous
peoples, youth, children and the disabled, and their relationships with
environment issues.
(d) Improvement of methods of data assessment and analysis
40.9. Relevant international organizations should develop practical
recommendations for coordinated, harmonized collection and assessment
of data at the national and international levels. National and
international data and information centres should set up continuous and
accurate data-collection systems and make use of geographic information
systems, expert systems, models and a variety of other techniques for
the assessment and analysis of data. These steps will be particularly
relevant, as large quantities of data from satellite sources will need
to be processed in the future. Developed countries and international
organizations, as well as the private sector, should cooperate, in
particular with developing countries, upon request, to facilitate their
acquiring these technologies and this know-how.
(e) Establishment of a comprehensive information framework
40.10. Governments should consider undertaking the necessary
institutional changes at the national level to achieve the integration
of environmental and developmental information. At the international
level, environmental assessment activities need to be strengthened and
coordinated with efforts to assess development trends.
(f) Strengthening of the capacity for traditional information
40.11. Countries, with the cooperation of international organizations,
should establish supporting mechanisms to provide local communities and
resource users with the information and know-how they need to manage
their environment and resources sustainably, applying traditional and
indigenous knowledge and approaches when appropriate. This is
particularly relevant for rural and urban populations and indigenous,
women's and youth groups.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
40.12. The secretariat of the Conference has estimated the average
total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this
programme to be about $1.9 billion from the international community on
grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and
order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by
Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are
non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies
and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
(b) Institutional means
40.13. Institutional capacity to integrate environment and development
and to develop relevant indicators is lacking at both the national and
international levels. Existing institutions and programmes such as the
Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) and the Global Resource
Information Database (GRID) within UNEP and different entities within
the systemwide Earthwatch will need to be considerably strengthened.
Earthwatch has been an essential element for environment-related data.
While programmes related to development data exist in a number of
agencies, there is insufficient coordination between them. The
activities related to development data of agencies and institutions of
the United Nations system should be more effectively coordinated,
perhaps through an equivalent and complementary "Development Watch",
which with the existing Earthwatch should be coordinated through an
appropriate office within the United Nations to ensure the full
integration of environment and development concerns.
(c) Scientific and technological means
40.14. Regarding transfer of technology, with the rapid evolution of
data-collection and information technologies it is necessary to develop
guidelines and mechanisms for the rapid and continuous transfer of
those technologies, particularly to developing countries, in conformity
with chapter 34 (Transfer of environmentally sound technology,
cooperation and capacity-building), and for the training of personnel
in their utilization.
(d) Human resource development
40.15. International cooperation for training in all areas and at all
levels will be required, particularly in developing countries. That
training will have to include technical training of those involved in
data collection, assessment and transformation, as well as assistance
to decision makers concerning how to use such information.
(e) Capacity-building
40.16. All countries, particularly developing countries, with the
support of international cooperation, should strengthen their capacity
to collect, store, organize, assess and use data in decision-making
more effectively.
B. Improving availability of information
Basis for action
40.17. There already exists a wealth of data and information that
could be used for the management of sustainable development. Finding
the appropriate information at the required time and at the relevant
scale of aggregation is a difficult task.
40.18. Information within many countries is not adequately managed,
because of shortages of financial resources and trained manpower, lack
of awareness of the value and availability of such information and
other immediate or pressing problems, especially in developing
countries. Even where information is available, it may not be easily
accessible, either because of the lack of technology for effective
access or because of associated costs, especially for information held
outside the country and available commercially.
Objectives
40.19. Existing national and international mechanisms of information
processing and exchange, and of related technical assistance, should be
strengthened to ensure effective and equitable availability of
information generated at the local, provincial, national and
international levels, subject to national sovereignty and relevant
intellectual property rights.
40.20. National capacities should be strengthened, as should
capacities within Governments, non-governmental organizations and the
private sector, in information handling and communication, particularly
within developing countries.
40.21. Full participation of, in particular, developing countries
should be ensured in any international scheme under the organs and
organizations of the United Nations system for the collection, analysis
and use of data and information.
Activities
(a) Production of information usable for decision-making
40.22. Countries and international organizations should review and
strengthen information systems and services in sectors related to
sustainable development, at the local, provincial, national and
international levels. Special emphasis should be placed on the
transformation of existing information into forms more useful for
decision-making and on targeting information at different user groups.
Mechanisms should be strengthened or established for transforming
scientific and socio-economic assessments into information suitable for
both planning and public information. Electronic and non-electronic
formats should be used.
(b) Establishment of standards and methods for handling information
40.23. Governments should consider supporting the efforts of
governmental as well as non-governmental organizations to develop
mechanisms for efficient and harmonized exchange of information at the
local, national, provincial and international levels, including
revision and establishment of data, access and dissemination formats,
and communication interfaces.
(c) Development of documentation about information
40.24. The organs and organizations of the United Nations system, as
well as other governmental and non-governmental organizations, should
document and share information about the sources of available
information in their respective organizations. Existing programmes,
such as those of the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of
Information Systems (ACCIS) and the International Environmental
Information System (INFOTERRA), should be reviewed and strengthened as
required. Networking and coordinating mechanisms should be encouraged
between the wide variety of other actors, including arrangements with
non-governmental organizations for information sharing and donor
activities for sharing information on sustainable development projects.
The private sector should be encouraged to strengthen the mechanisms of
sharing its experience and information on sustainable development.
(d) Establishment and strengthening of electronic networking
capabilities
40.25. Countries, international organizations, including organs and
organizations of the United Nations system, and non-governmental
organizations should exploit various initiatives for electronic links
to support information sharing, to provide access to databases and
other information sources, to facilitate communication for meeting
broader objectives, such as the implementation of Agenda 21, to
facilitate intergovernmental negotiations, to monitor conventions and
efforts for sustainable development to transmit environmental alerts,
and to transfer technical data. These organizations should also
facilitate the linkage of different electronic networks and the use of
appropriate standards and communication protocols for the transparent
interchange of electronic communications. Where necessary, new
technology should be developed and its use encouraged to permit
participation of those not served at present by existing infrastructure
and methods. Mechanisms should also be established to carry out the
necessary transfer of information to and from non-electronic systems to
ensure the involvement of those not able to participate in this way.
(e) Making use of commercial information sources
40.26. Countries and international organizations should consider
undertaking surveys of information available in the private sector on
sustainable development and of present dissemination arrangements to
determine gaps and how those gaps could be filled by commercial or
quasi-commercial activity, particularly activities in and/or involving
developing countries where feasible. Whenever economic or other
constraints on supplying and accessing
information arise, particularly in developing countries, innovative
schemes for subsidizing such information-related access or removing the
non-economic constraints should be considered.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
40.27. The secretariat of the Conference has estimated the average
total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this
programme to be about $165 million from the international community on
grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and
order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by
Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are
non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies
and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
(b) Institutional means
40.28. The institutional implications of this programme concern mostly
the strengthening of already existing institutions, as well as the
strengthening of cooperation with non-governmental organizations, and
need to be consistent with the overall decisions on institutions made
by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
(c) Capacity-building
40.29. Developed countries and relevant international organizations
should cooperate, in particular with developing countries, to expand
their capacity to receive, store and retrieve, contribute, disseminate,
use and provide appropriate public access to relevant environmental and
developmental information, by providing technology and training to
establish local information services and by supporting partnership and
cooperative arrangements between countries and on the regional or
subregional level.
(d) Scientific and technological means
40.30. Developed countries and relevant international organizations
should support research and development in hardware, software and other
aspects of information technology, in particular in developing
countries, appropriate to their operations, national needs and
environmental contexts.
END OF CHAPTER 40