Environment Statistics

UNSD organized a Workshop on Environment Statistics and Climate Change Statistics for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Region, in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat that took place in St. Georges, Grenada from 4 to 8 November 2019. The Workshop was hosted by the Central Statistical Office of Grenada. Several international, inter-governmental and regional organizations participated in the Workshop, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Regional Collaboration Centre of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC-RCC), the United Nations University (UNU), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The Workshop offered technical knowledge to statisticians from the National Statistical Offices and experts in the Ministries of Environment (or equivalent institutions) in countries in the region that have already embarked on environment statistics and were ready to receive further and in-depth training on the latest methodologies in environment statistics. Building on previous collaborative regional work undertaken by UNSD and CARICOM in environment statistics, the Workshop aimed at providing detailed knowledge and understanding of the subject, thus allowing participants to identify gaps in environmental data, and contribute to the production of regular, accurate and reliable environment statistics that can allow developing environmental indicators and accounts relevant to policy making and SDGs monitoring.

The Workshop was part of UNSD's regular programme of technical cooperation to support the implementation of the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) in Member States following the 44th session of the Statistical Commission's endorsement of the FDES 2013 as the framework for strengthening environment statistics programmes in countries. The workshop consisted of a series of experts' presentations, sharing of and discussion of lessons learned from country practices, and facilitated group discussions. UNSD presentations covered, inter alia, the conceptual foundation and the structure of the FDES 2013, strategic pillars and steps to implement the FDES 2013, and details of environment statistics particularly relevant for the region (i.e. waste, water, and climate change). FDES 2013 supporting materials, such as the Environment Statistics Self-Assessment Tool (ESSAT), were also presented and discussed. FAO, UNFCCC, UNFCCC-RCC, UNU and ECLAC also provided substantive technical contributions in their respective subject matters. Participants appreciated the guidance received towards the implementation of the FDES 2013 and the Environment Statistics Self-Assessment Tool (ESSAT) in their countries. Climate change statistics and indicators were also discussed given the mandate from the 47th session of the Statistical Commission that UNSD develop a global set of climate change statistics and indicators. In addition, the UNSD/UNEP Questionnaire on Environment Statistics and the environmentally-related SDG indicators were also addressed. Finally, the Workshop discussed and adopted a key set of recommendations on the way forward.