Focal Area: Ecosystem integrity and ecosystem goods and services

Headline Indictor: Health and well being of communities directly dependant on ecosystem goods and services

Key Indicator Partner:      

Indicator Partners:

Data Available: Global Baseline  

Development Status: Methodology under review

Global datasets are available for various facets relating to health, well-being and components of ecosystem integrity. However, extrapolating such information to reflect the situation of “directly dependent” communities is challenging. Data are available for aspects of services relevant to certain communities (e.g., fisheries offtake or forest cover), but such information is highly localised and not sufficiently spatially relevant or linked to well-being to develop a global indicator.

The indicator is therefore an overlay of (i) the health status (using subnational infant mortality statistics) of (ii) the numbers of people that are highly dependent on their environment – defined as living more than six hours from urban areas of at least 50,000 people – against (iii) the threat category assigned to ecoregions. Owing to the single datapoint available for the health variable, the analysis only allows for a baseline at this point (May 2010). A second global assessment of subnational infant mortality is due to be completed by FAO during Q4 of 2010 and the global indicator showing trends will be completed.

In the interim, national level case studies are being carried out, where longitudinal data are available, using the same methodology.

The highest levels of dependency on locally produced ecosystems within threatened ecoregions are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa and Madagascar. The next highest levels of dependency are found throughout Central Asia, the Indonesian Archipelago and parts of central South America. Dependency in western Europe, North America and Australia is relatively low. This indicates that rural populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa and Madagascar are likely to be the most vulnerable to changes in the provision of ecosystem services as a result of the high levels of poverty and remoteness.’ 

Although national case studies are being undertaken, there is currently no national level use of the indicator. The methodology could be adapted where data are available to produce national indicators. For more information on producing national indicators of the ‘health and well being of communities dependent on ecosystem goods and services’ contact Tristan Tyrrell at UNEP-WCMC (tristan.tyrrell@unep-wcmc.org). 

The next steps in the development of this indicator will involve further refinement of the datasets used and analysis. A set of related metrics, divided by biome, will be developed and used to consider the relative importance of a range of ecosystem services.