Database and Development Indicators

Environment Statistics

Technical Assistance

The development of environment statistics among the developing member countries (DMCs) of the ADB is not without difficulties. Problems in data collection methodologies as well as lack of adequate expertise, infrastructure and resources for compiling environment statistics are some concerns that beset most if not all DMCs of the Bank.

To address these issues, ADB initiated the Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) project on "Institutional Strengthening and Collection of Environment Statistics in Selected DMCs"(RETA 5555) in June 1995, covering 11 DMCs. To continue work on the development of ES in other DMCs of the Bank, a Phase 2 of the previous RETA was approved by ADB in August 1999 (RETA 5860), covering five DMCs.

RETA 5555 (First Phase)

This RETA included the following countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, and Viet Nam.

The objectives of the RETA were:

1. To establish institutional linkages and strengthen institutional capacity in environment statistics collection, compilation and analysis for each participating DMC;
2. To formulate each DMC's Framework for Development of Environment Statistics (FDES); and
3. To prepare each DMC's Compendium of Environment Statistics (CES) based on the country-specific FDES by organizing environment statistics data that are already available from existing sources.

The following major activities were implemented under the RETA 5555:

1. Inception Workshop held in Manila in September 1995 to review the status of ES in the 11 participating DMCs, identify key issues and limitations to ES development, and come up with an action plan for the countries to adopt to facilitate RETA implementation;
2. Two Sub-Regional Workshops held in Nepal and Indonesia to review the progress of work in the preparation of DMC's respective FDES and CES;
3. Concluding Workshop held in Manila in May 1998 to report each DMC's achievements under the project, assess their performance against RETA objectives and expected outputs, share experiences in the process of developing ES, and make recommendations for future action;
4. Training Course on Environment Statistics conducted in India for 23 participants from eight DMCs;
5. Provision of advisory assistance by fielding technical consultants to requesting DMCs to help them during the development of their respective FDES and/or CES; and
6. Provision of financial assistance to participating DMCs to partly cover cost of national workshops, local consultancy services and other miscellaneous costs related to FDES and CES preparation.

Part of the RETA 5555 activity was a compilation of common environmental indicators from the Compendiums of Environment Statistics prepared by the participating DMCs. Additional data was also collected on the selected environmental indicators from international sources. The country tables include some of the available environmental data for RETA 5555 countries. These may be updated regularly based on the CES publications of participating countries, which come out every two to three years, and available data from other sources.

RETA 5860 (Second Phase)

This RETA, which is currently under implementation, includes the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its objectives are:

1. To strengthen DMCs' institutional capacities to develop environment statistics;
2. To compile priority environment statistics and indicators from existing sources and disseminate them in hard copy and computer-readable medium; and
3. To train the officials involved in data collection and compilation of environment statistics.

The following are the major activities under the RETA 5860:

1. Inception Workshop held in Uzbekistan in April 2000 to review and discuss the status of ES in the five participating DMCs, identify key issues and constraints to ES development, and prepare work plans for the countries to achieve RETA objectives;
2. Mid-Term Workshop to be held in Kyrgyz Republic in June 2001 to review the progress of work in the preparation of DMC's FDES and CES and other RETA activities, identify outstanding issues and limitations, and revise the work programs if needed to ensure completion of RETA activities and objectives;
3. Concluding Workshop to be held in Manila towards the end of the project to report each DMC's achievements and outputs under the project, assess their performance against RETA objectives and expected outputs, share experiences in the process of developing ES, and make recommendations for future action;
4. Training Course on Environment Statistics conducted in India in December 2000 for 25 participants from 14 DMCs (including nine from RETA 5555 DMCs);
5. Production of a handbook or manual on methods for the collection and compilation of ES and development of key environmental indicators;
6. Provision of advisory assistance by fielding consultants to requesting DMCs to assist them during the development of their respective FDES and CES, and to resolve other technical issues; and
7. Provision of financial assistance to participating DMCs to partly cover cost of national workshops, local consultancy services and other miscellaneous costs related to FDES and CES preparation.

Environmental data from RETA 5860 countries will also be collected, organized and presented in a standard format for posting in this website in the near future.