Chapter 3: International Indicator Initiatives INTERNATIONAL INDICATOR 3 INITIATIVES This chapter highlights selected international indicator initiatives. This includes environment and sustainable development indicators, social indicators, housing and urban indicators, and health indicators developed by various international bodies. 3.1 ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS In the early to mid-1990s, organizations such as the OECD (19), SCOPE (27), UNEP/ RIVM (20), the World Bank (28), the World Resources Institute (29) and others became involved in the development of indicators to monitor environmental trends. The OECD approach has been to develop indicators for assessing countries’ environmental performance, and the World Resources Institute has devised indicators for measuring and reporting on the performance of environmental policy in the context of sustainable development (23). Many inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and various countries have drawn up indicators of sustainable development (see Chapter 6 for further details). The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development has been instrumental in coordinating the development and testing of such indicators. To date, it has compiled about 130 indicators of social, economic, environmental and institutional aspects of sustainable development, which have been classified according to whether they are “driving force” indicators representing human activities, processes and patterns with an impact on sustainable development, whether they indicate the ‘state’ of sustainable development, or whether they are indicators of “response” to policy options and to changes in the state of sustainable development (30). These indicators are being tested at the national level throughout the world, and it is anticipated that they will be used in national decision-making, following adaptation and modification. A core set based on the policy priorities of Agenda 21 will be presented for endorsement to the Commission on Sustainable Development. 27 Health in Sustainable Development Planning: The Role of Indicators Table 3 SELECTED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS CHAPTERS OF DRIVING FORCE STATE RESPONSE AGENDA 21 INDICATORS INDICATORS INDICATORS CATEGORY: SOCIAL Chapter 3: • Unemployment • Head count Combating poverty rate index of poverty • Poverty gap index • Squared poverty gap index • Gini index of income inequality • Ratio of average female wage to male wage Chapter 5: • Population growth • Population density Demographic rate dynamics and • Net migration rate sustainability • Total fertility rate Chapter 36: • Rate of change of • Children reaching • GDP spent on Promoting education, school age grade 5 of primary education public awareness and population education training • Primary school • School life enrolment ratio expectancy (gross and net) • Difference • Secondary school between male and enrolment ratio female school (gross and net) enrolment ratios • Adult literacy rate • Women per hundred men in the labour force Chapter 6: • Basic sanitation: • Immunization Protecting and Percent of against infectious promoting human population with childhood diseases health adequate excreta • Contraceptive disposal facilities prevalence • Access to safe • Proportion of drinking water potentially • Life expectancy at hazardous birth chemicals • Adequate birth monitored in food weight • National health • Infant mortality expenditure rate devoted to local • Maternal mortality health care rate • Total national • Nutritional status health expenditure of children related to GNP 28 Chapter 3: International Indicator Initiatives CHAPTERS OF DRIVING FORCE STATE RESPONSE AGENDA 21 INDICATORS INDICATORS INDICATORS Chapter 7: • Rate of growth of • Percent of • Infrastructure Promoting urban population population in expenditure per sustainable human • Per capita urban areas capita settlement consumption of • Area and development fossil fuel by motor population of vehicle transport urban formal and • Human and informal economic loss due settlements to natural disasters • Floor area per person • House price to income ratio CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENTAL Chapter 18: • Annual withdrawals • Groundwater • Waste-water Protection of the of ground and reserves treatment quality and supply of surface water • Concentration of coverage freshwater resources • Domestic faecal coliforms in • Density of consumption of freshwater hydrological water per capita • Biochemical oxygen networks demand in water bodies Chapter 17: • Population growth • Maximum Protection of the in coastal areas sustained yield for oceans, all kinds of • Discharges of oil fisheries seas and coastal into coastal waters • Algae index areas • Releases of nitrogen and phosphorus to coastal waters Chapter 10: • Land use change • Changes in land • Decentralized local Integrated approach condition level natural to the planning and resource management of land management resources Chapter 12: • Population living • National monthly Managing fragile below poverty line rainfall index ecosystems: in dryland areas • Satellite derived combating vegetation index desertification and • Land affected by drought desertification Chapter 13: • Population change • Sustainable use of Managing fragile in mountain areas natural resources ecosystems: in mountain areas sustainable mountain • Welfare of development mountain populations 29 Health in Sustainable Development Planning: The Role of Indicators CHAPTERS OF DRIVING FORCE STATE RESPONSE AGENDA 21 INDICATORS INDICATORS INDICATORS Chapter 14: • Use of agricultural • Arable land per • Agricultural Promoting pesticides capita education sustainable • Use of fertilizers • Area affected by agriculture and rural • Irrigation percent salinization and development of arable land waterlogging • Energy use in agriculture Chapter 11: • Wood harvesting • Forest area change • Managed forest Combating intensity area ratio deforestation • Protected forest area as a percent of total forest area Chapter 15: • Threatened species • Protected area as a Conservation of as a percent of percent of total biological diversity total native species area Chapter 16: • R & D expenditure Environmentally for biotechnology sound management • Existence of of biotechnology national biosafety regulations or guidelines Chapter 9: • Emissions of • Ambient • Expenditure on air Protection of the greenhouse gases concentrations of pollution atmosphere • Emissions of pollutants in urban abatement sulphur oxides areas • Emissions of nitrogen oxides • Consumption of ozone depleting substances Chapter 21: • Generation of • Expenditure on Environmentally industrial and waste sound management municipal solid management of solid wastes and waste • Waste recycling sewage-related issues • Household waste and reuse disposed per • Municipal waste capita disposal Chapter 19: • Chemically induced • Number of Environmentally acute poisonings chemicals banned sound management or severely of toxic chemicals restricted Chapter 20: • Generation of • Area of land • Expenditure on Environmentally hazardous wastes contaminated by hazardous waste sound management • Imports and hazardous wastes treatment of hazardous wastes exports of hazardous wastes 30 Chapter 3: International Indicator Initiatives CHAPTERS OF DRIVING FORCE STATE RESPONSE AGENDA 21 INDICATORS INDICATORS INDICATORS Chapter 22: • Generation of Safe and radioactive wastes environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes Source: United Nations (30) 3.2 SOCIAL INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT Social indicators of development have been compiled by the World Bank (1996) to assess reductions in poverty. These include indicators of priorities, supplementary indicators (including of access to basic services and social safety nets) and indicators of human resources, natural resources, socioeconomic expenditure and investment in human capital. In combination, they allow monitoring of social conditions at the country level and provide a framework for assessing human welfare. Table 4 SOCIAL INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT Priority Poverty • Poverty • Upper poverty line Indicators Headcount index • Lower poverty line Headcount index • GNP per capita • Social • Public expenditure on basic social services • Gross enrollment ratios • Primary Male Female • Mortality Infant mortality Under 5 mortality • Immunization Measles DPT • Child malnutrition (under 5) • Life expectancy Total female advantage • Total fertility rate • Maternal mortality rate 31 Health in Sustainable Development Planning: The Role of Indicators Supplementary • Expenditure on social security Poverty • Social security coverage Indicators • Access to safe water Total Urban Rural • Access to health care Source: World Bank (31) 3.3 HOUSING AND URBAN INDICATORS Other work on indicators which is relevant to health includes that of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (32) with regard to housing and urban areas, which constitutes a monitoring package for cities and the shelter sector. The key indicators were collected by countries in preparation for Habitat II (13) (see Section 1.3). Governments were urged to obtain information for at least the key indicators in one or more cities. The indicators cover socioeconomic development, infrastructure, transport, environmental management, local government, housing affordability, availability and provision, and general background information. Data have been collected for cities all over the world. UNCHS (33) has also gathered data on specific issues of concern with regard to the quality of