NEIP: NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS PROGRAMME

Phase 2: Selection of Issues and Criteria

Phase 2 consisted of the selection of issues and criteria. Once again, this phase took place through a number of different tasks. The tasks were as follows:

• Identify priority environmental issues for reporting. This was done by:
  • Reviewing policies, laws, international agreements and other relevant documentation for possible issues pertaining to environmental sustainability in South Africa;
  • Attending a forum (Imbizo workshop) on emerging environmental issues in the global business and industry environment (summary available);
  • Consulting with representatives from key stakeholders through a workshop;
  • Eliciting public opinion on key national and local environmental issues in South Africa through the HSRC 'Evaluation of the Population' study (a regular national survey on public opinion in South Africa) (report available);
• Establish criteria for the selection of indicators. The ones that were selected are as follows:
  1. The indicator must be based on good quality data that are available at a reasonable cost.
  2. The indicator should provide information that measures something that is important to decision makers.
  3. The information can be presented in a way that is easily understood and appealing to the target audience.
  4. The indicator must relate to goals, targets or objectives.
  5. The indicator must provide timely information (to allow for response).
  6. The indicator must be able to detect small changes in the system.
  7. The indicator must be relevant to policy and management needs within the South African context. The indicator must therefore be associated with one or several environmental policy issues.
  8. The indicator must be based on data that are accurate, reliable, statistically sound and scientifically valid. Metadata should define the quality of the data in the data set and include information on sensitivity, uncertainty, variability, precision, accuracy and error.
  9. The data must be available and accessible, particularly in the long term.
  10. The indicator must be based on data of the correct spatial and temporal extent. Sufficient historical data must be available to identify trends over time.
  11. The data collection process should have minimal environmental impact.