Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators

The 2023 Edition of the UNECE Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators have been published in English. See this news article for a summary.

Metadata for indicators will be added to this page, in English and Russian, over the coming months, grouped by FDES (UN Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics) Component.

Introduction

Priority indicators are shown in bold.

Once the metadata is complete, the 2014 version of the Guidelines (see further below) will be moved and kept for reference. Meanwhile both sets are being kept here for your convenience.

Environmental conditions and quality

Metadata will be added for each indicator

Subcomponent “physical conditions”

Topic “atmosphere, climate and weather”

B-1.1 Mean temperature anomaly (compared to climate normal 1961–1990) (English, Russian)

B-1.5 Mean temperature anomaly (compared to climate normal 1991–2020) (English, Russian)

B-1.2 Annual average temperature (in country, in capital, second major city, area or region) (English, Russian)

B-1.3 Maximum monthly average temperature (in country, in capital, second major city, area or region) (English, Russian)

B-1.4 Minimum monthly average temperature (in country, in capital, second major city, area or region) (English, Russian)

B-2.1 Annual deviation from the average precipitation (in country, in capital, second major city, area or region) (English, Russian)

B-2.2 Annual precipitation (in country, in capital, second major city, area or region) (English, Russian)

B-2.3 Maximum monthly precipitation (in country, in capital, second major city, area or region) (English, Russian)

B-2.4 Minimum monthly precipitation (in country, in capital, second major city, area or region) (English, Russian)

B-2.5 Percentage of land area suffering from unusually wet or dry conditions (Standard Precipitation Index) (English, Russian)

B-2.6 Occurrence of extremes of temperatures and precipitation (English, Russian)

Topic “soil characteristics”

E-2.1 Proportion of agricultural area affected by water erosion (English, Russian)

E-2.2 Proportion of agricultural area affected by wind erosion (English, Russian)

E-2.4 Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area (SDG indicator 15.3.1) (English, Russian)

E-3.3 Progress in management of contaminated sites (number of identified and remediated contaminated sites) (English, Russian)

Subcomponent “land cover, ecosystems and biodiversity”

Topic “ecosystems and biodiversity”

D-7.3 Red List of Ecosystems (English, Russian)

D-1.1 Share of total protected areas (categories of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)) in the country area (English, Russian)

D-7.2 Extent of natural ecosystems (English, Russian)

D-4.4 Red List Index (SDG indicator 15.5.1) (English, Russian)

D-5.3 Proportion of populations within species with an effective population size > 500 (English, Russian)

D-1.7 Area under restoration (English, Russian)

D-1.8 Coverage of protected areas and OECMs (English, Russian)

D-6.1 Rate of invasive alien species establishment (English, Russian)

D-1.2 Share of total protected areas (national categories) in the country area (English, Russian)

D-1.3 Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas (SDG indicator 14.5.1) (English, Russian)

D-1.5 Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas, by ecosystem type (SDG indicator 15.1.2) (English, Russian)

D-4.2 Share of species threatened (mammals, birds, fishes, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, vascular plants, mosses, lichens, fungi, algae) (English, Russian)

D-5.1 Volume and distribution of selected species (keystone species, flagship species, endemic species and other species) (English, Russian)

D-2.2 Conservation status of habitats of high importance for biodiversity conservation (conservation status for habitats according to conservation status criteria) (English, Russian)

C-18.4 Hazardous substances in marine organisms (English, Russian)

D-2.3 Ecosystem coverage (English, Russian)

Topic "forests"

D-3.1 Forest area as a proportion of total land area (SDG indicator 15.1.1) (English, Russian)

D-3.2 Share of other wooded land in country area (English, Russian)

D-3.8 Forest fires (area burnt by forest fires) (English, Russian)

D-3.9 Deadwood in forests (volume of deadwood per forest area) (English, Russian)

Subcomponent “environmental quality”

Topic “air quality”

A-2.10 PM₁₀: Annual mean concentration in cities (English, Russian)

A-2.8 Annual mean level of PM₁₀ in cities (population weighted) (SDG indicator 11.6.2) (English, Russian)

A-2.1 PM₁₀: Number of days with exceeded daily limit value (English, Russian)

A-2.9 PM_2.5: Annual mean concentration in cities (English, Russian)

A-2.7 Annual mean level of PM_2.5 in cities (population weighted) (SDG indicator 11.6.2) (English, Russian)

A-2.5 PM_2.5: Number of days with exceeded daily limit value (English, Russian)

A-2.11 SO_x: Annual mean concentration in cities (English, Russian)

A-2.2 SO₂: Number of days with exceeded daily limit value (English, Russian)

A-2.3 O₃: Number of days with exceeded daily limit value (English, Russian)

A-2.12 NO_x: Annual mean concentration in cities (English, Russian)

A-2.4 NO₂: Number of days with exceeded daily limit value (English, Russian)

Topic "freshwater quality"

C-10.1 BOD in rivers (English, Russian)

C-10.2 Ammonium (NH₄) in rivers (English, Russian)

C-11.1 Phosphates in freshwater (rivers, lakes, groundwater) (English, Russian)

C-11.2 Nitrates in freshwater (rivers, lakes, groundwater) (English, Russian)

C-17.2 Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality (SDG indicator 6.3.2) (English, Russian)

Topic "marine water quality"

C-12.1 Chlorophyll in transitional, coastal and marine waters (trends in chlorophyll-a concentrations) (English, Russian)

C-12.2 Phosphates in transitional, coastal and marine waters (English, Russian)

C-12.3 Nitrates in transitional, coastal and marine waters (English, Russian)

C-18.1 Number of items on beach per 100 m of shoreline (English, Russian)

C-18.2 Average marine acidity (pH) measured at agreed suite of sampling stations (SDG indicator 14.3.1) (English, Russian)

C-18.3 Average sea surface temperature anomaly (English, Russian)

C-12.4 Index of coastal eutrophication potential (English, Russian)

Environmental resources and their use

Subcomponent “energy resources”

Topic “production, trade and consumption of energy”

G-1.1 Total final consumption (TFC) of energy (English, Russian)

G-1.2 Final energy consumption (English, Russian)

G-1.3 Total energy use by the national economy (English, Russian)

G-1.4 Energy use by resident households per capita (English, Russian)

G-2.1 Total primary energy supply (TPES) (English, Russian)

G-3.1 Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP (SDG indicator 7.3.1) (English, Russian)

G-3.2 Energy intensity measured in terms of final energy consumption and GDP (English, Russian)

G-4.1 Renewable energy share in the total primary energy supply

G-4.2 Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption within the national territory (SDG indicator 7.2.1) (English, Russian)

G-4.3 Share of fossil fuels in total primary energy supply (TPES) (English, Russian)

G-4.4 Use of renewable energy for transport (share of energy from renewable sources used in transport) (English, Russian)

Subcomponent “land”

Topic “land use”

D-7.1 Landscape fragmentation pressure and trends (density of unfragmented landscape elements (“meshes”) per unit area) (English, Russian)

E-1.2 Total land uptake

Topic “use of forest land”

D-3.3 Share of natural forest of total forest area

D-3.4 Share of planted forest of total forest area (English, Russian)

D-3.6 Share of forest area designated for protection of soil, water and ecosystem services of total forest area

D-3.7 Share of forest area protected and designated for the conservation of biodiversity

D-3.10 Forest: growing stock, increment and fellings

D-3.11 Forest carbon stock

D-3.12 Progress towards sustainable forest management (SDG indicator 15.2.1) 

Subcomponent “soil resources”

Topic “soil resources”

E-3.1 Proportion of area with improving or degrading soil organic carbon content

E-3.2 Soil organic carbon content

Subcomponent “biological resources”

Topic “aquatic resources”

D-5.2 Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels (SDG indicator 14.4.1)

Subcomponent “water resources”

Topic “water resources”

C-1.1 Renewable freshwater resources

Topic “abstraction, use and returns of water”

C-2.1 Total freshwater abstracted by source

C-2.3 Water exploitation index (WEI)

C-2.4 Level of Water Stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources (SDG indicator 6.4.2)

C-3.1 Total freshwater available for use

C-3.2 Total freshwater use

C-3.4 Freshwater use per unit GDP

C-3.6 Change in water use efficiency over time (SDG indicator 6.4.1)

C-4.1 Households water use per capita of population connected to public water supply

C-4.2 Total household water use per capita

C-7.2 Percentage of water lost during transportation

C-7.3 Share of water losses by different reasons (leakages, evaporation, burst mains and meter errors)

C-8.1 Share of reused water in total freshwater use

C-8.3 Percentage of reused water by economic activity

Residuals

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 Extreme events and disasters

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Human settlements and environmental health

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Environmental protection, management and engagement

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The 2014 revised Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators in Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia and South-Eastern Europe were made available online only. Each indicator is presented through three files: description of the indicator, table for the production of the indicator, and glossary of terms. The latest update for each indicator is indicated with a relevant date.