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Table 1: GEO core indicator data matrix

Theme Issue Potential data variables Proposed key and Units Current primary (lead) 4
Activities lead indicators data source(s), used in
GEO Data Portal
Biodiver- Loss of habitat ? Recorded ? Total areas % of total ? Ramsar list
sity wildlife habitat of wetlands/ forest area ? WWF: Lakes and
by ecosystem, for marshes Wetlands database,
forests (dry, moist, ? Total Global ecoregions
all forest), wetlands, mangeove ? IUCN/WCMC: Abu Dhabi, UAE
mangroves, area Protected Areas
grassland/savannah, ? Change in Database
deserts/scrubland arable land ? USGS/EDC: Olson
area World Ecosys.

? FAO: FAOSTAT

Example UN-DSD Indicator Framework

In 1995, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (then part of the UN Division
for Sustainable Development) approved a work programme on indicators of sustainable
development, in response to Chapter 40 of Agenda 21. The work programme included a list
of approximately 130 indicators organized in the DSR framework. These, along with their
corresponding methodology sheets, were published by the United Nations in 1996 in what
became widely known as the first ‘Blue Book’. The indicators were tested in a number of
volunteering countries. As a result, the number of sustainable development indicators in the
core set was reduced to 58, and the DSR framework was replaced by a thematic framework,
organized along the four “pillars” (social, environmental, economic, institutional) of sustainable
development. The results were published in the second Blue Book in by UN-DSD in 2001.

In 2005, UN-DSD began a second review of its indicators, which was completed in late
2006 and resulted in a further streamlined and updated set of indicators (UN Department
of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development. 2006). Agreement has
been reached to reduce the core set further, to retain the thematic approach, and to divide
indicators among the four pillars, since it masks relationships among the issues. For the most
up to date listing of the indicators, consult UN-DSD website: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/
natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm.

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