1. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning UNEP Regional Office for Latin America & the Caribbean DWG ¨Data-to-Indicators¨ Meeting 16-17 th June 2003, Geneva DWG ¨Data-to-Indicators¨ Meeting 16-17 th June 2003, Geneva GEO Data & Indicators in LAC Prepared by DEWA-LAC & the Development Observatory, University of Costa Rica (OdD-UCR) Regional Overview

2. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Undertake environmental assessments and provide relevant information to support environmental management, decision-making and policy-setting. Regional Goal: DEWA-LAC Main partners in LAC: Development Observatory, University of Costa Rica Centre for Geography and Geometrics Research (CentroGeo), Mexico

3. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Integrated Environmental Assessments (GEOs): Integrated Environmental Assessments (GEOs): undertake integrated environmental assessments at the municipal, national, sub-regional and global levels using UNEP´s Global Environment Outlook (GEO) methodology. Functions:Functions: Data and Indicators: generate high quality environmental data sets and indicators to help monitor sustainable development. Early Warning: carry out early warning studies of emerging threats. DEWA - LAC

4. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning GEO Family of Assessments GEO Global Regional Assessments GEO Latin America and the Caribbean 2000 GEO Latin America and the Caribbean (03) Sub-regional Assessments Andes (03), Caribbean 2 (04), C. America (03), Southern Cone (05) Data and Indicators Thematic / EW Assessments Climate change (03) Health and environment (04) Marine and coastal (03) GEO Cities Rio, Manaus (02), Mexico, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Havana, Arequipa (03 - 04)Youth Peru (02), Argentina (03), Mexico (04), Uruguay (04), Havana (04), Nicaragua (04) National Assessments Panama, Chile 1 & 2, Cuba, Peru, Nicaragua, Barbados, Costa Rica, Brazil, El Salvador (03), Mexico (03), St. Lucia (04), Haiti (04), Dominican Rep. (04), Venezuela (04), Argentina (04)

5. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Forum of Ministers of the Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean establish a regional data and information system to assist environmental decision-making (X Meeting of the Forum, Argentina 1996). develop environmental and sustainability indicators to enhance national capacity in generating data and information X Meeting of the Forum, Argentina 1996). develop an environmental vision for the region, as the starting point towards a regional information system to assist environmental decision-making (1st Special Inter-sessional Meeting of the Forum, New York 1998). take leadership in the preparation of regional and sub-regional assessment reports through strengthening of the network of GEO collaboration centres and experts (XII Meeting of the Forum, Barbados 2000). continue to develop bases of environmental data and indicator to assist countries in the region in monitoring of the progress being made regarding sustainable development....,The Forum request the govenment of Costa Rica to coordinate the work related to the development of environmental indicators in LAC (XIII Meeting of the Forum, Brazil, 2001).

6. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning GEO LAC 2000 Statistical annexes with 180 variables/ indicators for every five years from 1980 to 1998. GEO Statistics CD-ROM More than 200 environmental and socio-economic variables and indicators for every five years from 1970 to 1990 and every year from 1990 to 2000, with definitions, references and some graphics. GEO Statistics (book) 180 environmental and socio-economic variables and indicators for every five years from 1970 to 1990 and every year from 1990 to 2000. With detailed references. GEO Data in LAC - History

7. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning GEO Data in LAC - Current status Environmental Database at the Development Observatory 400+ time series (environmental + socio-economic). Regional and UN sources have been used, even though decisions have been made to change regional sources for global ones, for which access is less restricted, depending on type of data required. Sources are specialized in the matter (for instance, although FAO publishes population data, this organization is used as reference only on statistics on agriculture, forests and fisheries). Continuous updating (one full time statistician) Special datasets extracted upon request to serve data needs in the region GEO LAC Data & indicators Tool Kit / Sistema de Informacion Estadistica Ambiental Nacional (SIEAN) being completed

8. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Thematic areas and sources The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) NATURAL HAZARDS Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Center (CELADE); ONU; CEPAL URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC); Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) ATMOSPHERE WCMC; FAO MARINE AND COASTAL AREAS Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) FRESHWATER World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) BIODIVERSITY FAO FORESTS FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) LAND

9. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning GEO LAC Data & indicators Tool Kit / Sistema de Informacion Estadistica Ambiental Nacional (SIEAN) a software designed to provide an initial framework to construct an environmental database at the national level using the GEO regional database as model. Nationally collected and assembled data can be forwarded to a master regional database at the OdD.

10. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning

11. UNEP.Net online information and data portal for LAC and Mesoamerica

12. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Issues & actions required To improve GEO LAC Data & indicators Tool Kit (SIEAN) by: - training national focal points in LAC; - receiving users´ feedback on its applicability; - completing the development of a SIEAN interface that allows accumulation of nationally collected data in a mater database; etc. To continue to enhance the quality and quantity of data in the regional database by: - harmonising data collection at the national level; - enriching the existing database with nationally-sourced data; - enabling effective dissemination of already-accumulated data using existing instruments such as GEO Data Portal and UNEP.Net - metadata??

13. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Develop an environmental data hub

14. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning GEO Data Portal in LAC prototype presented by GRID-Geneva at the Workshop Issues & actions required GEO Data Portal Version LAC The 4-day workshop on UNEP global and regional data portal for LAC held at OdD-UCR on 25 th - 28 th of Nov. 02. Participated by the reps of OdD-UCR, DEWA-LAC, UNEP/DEWA/GRID-Geneva, CentroGeo, and el Centro de Información, Gestión y Educación Ambiental (CIEA, Cuba).

15. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning GEO Data Portal Version LAC (continued) Objectives of the Costa Rica Workshop To follow-up the decisions made at the Global/Regional Data Portals, Standards and Tools Meeting in December 2001 in Geneva by developing a pilot regional manifestation of the Geo Data Portal (global) developed by GRID – Geneva; To discuss steps to harmonize data contents and tools of the Global and Regional Portals; To review the content of the exiting GEO LAC Data Tool Box to use as the content of the LAC Regional Data Portal, and To plan future actions to complete the development of the LAC Regional Data Portal

16. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Issues & actions required GEO Data Portal Version LAC (continued) Outcomes of the Costa Rica Workshop User group analysis (global vs. regional) Major discussions on: the concept of a Regional Portal (i.e. regional customization of the existing Global GEO Data Portal vs. development of a new Regional Portal); the compatibility of datasets used in Global GEO Data Portal and GEO LAC Tool Kit (including data classification/Taxonomy), and usability of the settings and features of Global GEO Data Portal in LAC. Agreement that the Regional Data Portal should build itself on the existing Global GEO Data Portal (global) as much as possible, but shall offer additional features that would cover the needs of its additional user group with as with the fastest possible access speed. Workshop report with a proposal of the development of GEO LAC Portal with budget required Technical evaluation report on the Regional Data Portal prototype produced by GRID – Geneva, based on the concepts of a Regional Data Portal and its users’ needs that were identified during the workshop

17. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Information on Indicators Development and Rural Sustainability Indicators for Central America GEO Indicators in LAC - History & current status Indicators for the LAC Initiative for Sustainable Development A new initiative of the government of Costa Rica with support from UNEP/ROLAC and World Bank responding to the decisions made by the Forum of Ministers at WSSD 2

18. Environmental Assessment & Early Warning Issues & actions required Environmental statistics & indicators in LAC To establish a permanent programme to support the development of environmental statistics at the national level in LAC To seek interagency support to this programme To satisfy environmental data needs from agencies as well as international conventions

19. DEWA-LAC UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean Blvd. de los Virreyes 155, Lomas de Virreyes CP 11000 México, D.F., MEXICO http://www.pnuma.org/dewalac http://www.odd.ucr.ac.cr University of Costa Rica Development Observatory Campus Universitario San José, COSTA RICA