4.0
Indicators and Program Objectives
The
purpose of indicators varies considerably with the phenomenon being
studied, the relationships within that phenomenon, and the objectives
of the program for which the indicators are being used.
The International Joint Commission (1991) outlines five examples
of common uses for environmental indicators.
They are:
These are a small sample of potential uses of indicators which have a direct impact on the type of indicator, or attributes desired among those indicators selected. The type(s) of indicators retained in a monitoring program should be dictated by the specific goals of the program. As Briggs (WHO, 2000: 1.3) states: “The
fundamental assumption is that indicators are intended to serve a purpose. They must therefore be fit for their purpose.
This implies that we know what purpose we want them for and who
will use them in order to define and design them accordingly.
To be useful, indicators must relate to an issue of current or
future interest or concern. Different
issues raise different questions and different users have different
interests and needs. To provide
this information the indicator must be interpretable.
This means that we must know what differences or changes is the
indicator meant for. In addition,
indicators should be accurate, so that they provide an undistorted picture
of the condition of interest. At
the same time, they should be transparent – be readily understood by
the users. Crucial for the design of good indicators is
the “denominator”. As many programs have multiple purposes, a balance between the various types of indicators is expected, so that there is some information that can be used, for example, to measure compliance with recognized standards, to track regular changes in environmental health situations, to provide warning of potential future environmental health hazards, etc. The mission, goals and strategies to achieve the goals of the U.S. – Mexico Border XXI Environmental Health Working Group, which must be considered in selecting appropriate types of indicators for environmental health monitoring in this region, include: Mission: to achieve a clean environment, protect public health and natural resources, and encourage sustainable development along the U.S. – Mexico Border. Primary Goal: to promote sustainable development in the border region by seeking a balance among social and economic factors and protection of the environment in border communities and environmental areas. Strategies to achieve goal: ensure public involvement, build capacity
and decentralize environmental management, ensure inter-agency cooperation. (USEPA, Border
XXI Program homepage, 2000) Further, more specific goals of the program are stated and include: 2. Increase efficient use and protection of water resources 3. Develop infrastructure for water treatment and solid waste treatment and disposal 4. Meet national air quality standards 5. Increase information exchange and cross border notification capacity 6. Increase communities abilities to response to environmental emergencies in the border region 7. Increase local technical capacity
8.
Increase effective enforcement and compliance with U.S. – Mexico environmental
laws (USEPA Border XXI web site, 2000) |