Statistics New Zealand is developing a framework and indicators to measure sustainable development in New Zealand, and a publication that will report the measures.
What is sustainable development?
Our sustainable development framework and indicators use the Brundtland definition of sustainable development, as reported to the General Assemby of the United Nations: "meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
How does the current work relate to previous work?
The current work will build on Statistics NZ's previous work in this area:
The recommendations of the review will be incorporated as far as possible into the development of the framework and indicators, and subsequent report.
What will the new report focus on?
The report on monitoring sustainable development in New Zealand will:
- Measure the interdependencies between the environment, society and economy within one integrated framework.
- Take a long-term view of the factors that influence the build-up and run-down of social, cultural, environmental and economic resources over time.
Will it report at a regional level?
The report will focus on national measures of sustainable development. The regional and local aspects will be covered through looking at how different regions contribute to the national picture.
Will the framework and indicators be internationally comparable?
The statistical framework will be based on the recommendations of the joint OECD, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and Eurostat international Working Group on Statistics for Sustainable Development (WGSSD); a working group that Statistics New Zealand has been involved in. A subset of the indicators for New Zealand will be those recommended by the WGSSD, which will be internationally comparable, while the other indicators will be selected for their relevance to New Zealand.
What approach will be used to measure sustainable development?
The statistical framework and indicators will be based on the capital approach to measuring sustainable development. This is the approach recommended by the WGSSD. However, as the WGSSD's work is not in a state of development where it can be immediately applied to New Zealand, we will use the Swiss MONET framework as a basis for the framework. The Swiss MONET framework offers a practical and robust method of implementing the capital approach, and can be adapted for the New Zealand context.
What is the capital approach to measuring sustainable development?
The capital approach borrows the concept of capital from economics, but broadens it to include natural, social and human capital.
In this context, capital assets include a range of assets that generate a flow of goods and services that enhance welfare over time, including assets outside of the economy such as ecosystem services. Welfare is considered to be a product of the consumption, where consumption is understood in a comprehensive manner. This consumption consists of both goods and services that are produced and marketed, as well as goods and services that are gathered and experienced. For instance, in this context, a beautiful view can be ‘consumed.’
Sustainable development can best be achieved if these capital assets are maintained over time, so that future generations have an equal or better opportunity to meet their needs. This is analogous to a farmer who must maintain a portfolio of assets, including machinery (produced capital), farming knowledge (human capital), membership of the farming community (social capital), and soil productivity (natural capital), for the farm to be productive both now and in the future.
When will the report be published?
The report on monitoring sustainable development in New Zealand will be released in July 2009.
Contact information
If you have any questions about the sustainable development work at Statistics New Zealand, please email sustainable.development@stats.govt.nz