State of the Coast and Ocean: Introduction

State of the environment (SOE) reporting reports on the sustainability of a system. SOE reporting is used to:

Measure progress towards sustainability

Provide a comprehensive analysis of environmental conditions and trends

Contribute to informed and open decision making

Contribute to public awareness by providing scientific information about the environment in an easily understandable form

Assists in identifying data/information gaps

Key Questions

What is happening in the environment (i.e., what are the environmental conditions and trends)?

Why is it happening (i.e., how are human activities and other stresses linked to the issue in question)?

Why is it significant (i.e., what are the ecological and socioeconomic effects)?

What is being done about it (i.e., how is society responding to the issues through government and industry action and voluntary initiatives)?

Is this sustainable (i.e., are human actions depleting environmental capital and causing deterioration of ecosystem health)?

SOE reporting is part of a broader system of information that includes:

Monitoring and collecting data
Managing, storing, and accessing data
Providing analytical tools tointerpret data
Creating understandable environmental indicators and reports
Developing mechanisms to incorporate environmental knowledge into decision making

History

1979: OECD recommended member countries prepare periodic national SOERs

1992: Agenda 21 promoted SOE reporting for informed decision making.

1992-1999: Numerous countries legislated national SOERs, and undertook first ones.

1997 on: Many indicator initiatives initiated, stimulated by the work of the CSD (Commission for Sustainable Development).

1997-2002: Series of global reports, including Global Environment Outlook, World Resources and State of the World.

2003-2008: Scattered commitment with a focus on developing more effective ways of delivery.

In the last 2 years – significant progress.

From a presentation titled: ‘State of the Environment Reporting for Coastal and Ocean Management’ by Jay Walmsley, PhD, Coastal and Oceans Management Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography.