ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATOR

Submitted by-
Priyashi Panda
Bandita Singh Deo
Suraj Prakash Mishra
INTRODUCTION:

•An environmental indicator is a number that is meant to indicate the state or the
development of important aspects of the environment.
•An indicator without a unit of measurement is an index. An index is often constructed
from several indicators weighted together to capture the total impact on an aspect of
the state of the environment.
•A leading indicator to an environmental indicator, is an indicator that gives early
warning of the development in the environmental indicator.
•Indicators are developed based on quantitative measurements or statistics of
environmental condition that are tracked over time.

USERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS:-

•Anybody who is concerned with the development of the natural environment is a

potential user of environmental indicators.
•A condensed description of the environment that is easily understood even without
advanced knowledge of disciplines like ecology, chemistry, biology or medicine. Thus
they are considered as users of the environmental indicators, non-experts that are
concerned about the environment.
ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS :

•Ecological indicators are used to report on the state, or condition, of ecosystems.

•The main attributes of ecological indicators are to combine numerous environmental
factors into a single value denoting the environmental quality.
•Indicators contribute to evaluation of policy development by: Providing decision-
makers and the general public with relevant information on the current state and
trends in the environment.
•These indicators are measurable, integrative, ecologically and socially relevant,
interpretable and anticipatory.
•They are collected at appropriate geographic scales, at appropriate temporal scales,
and able to detect the future trends.
•Indicators are mainly used to assess the condition of the environment, as early
warning signals of ecological problems.
FIVE KEY INDICATORS

Impact on Environmental
Indicator Recent Trend Outlook for Future
Quality

Biological Diversity Large no. of Extinction Extinction continues Negative

Per capita production possibly May affect the no. of

Food Production Unclear
leveling off people Earth can Support

Average global
surface CO2 Concentration and Effects are uncertain and
Increase in Short time
temperature and temperature increasing varied but detrimental
CO2 concentration
Population Increasing and
Increasing while Growth rate
Human Population resource consumption Negative
decreasing
rate is a factor
Increased use of most
Resource being depleted rapidly
resource has a negative
Resource Depletion Human ingenuity improves
effect
More use of resource
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Air Pollution Indicators

 Ammonia (NH3) emissions

 Emission of acidifying substances
 Emissions of ozone precursors
 Emissions of primary particulate matter and
secondary particulate matter precursors
 Exceedance of air quality limit values in urban
areas
 Exposure of ecosystems to acidification,
eutrophication and ozone
 Heavy metal (HM) emissions
 Nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions
 Non-methane volatile organic compounds
(NMVOC) emissions
 Persistent organic pollutant (POP) emissions
 Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions
Fig no.-1 : Showing Air Pollutants
POLLUTION

CLIMATE CHANGE –

 Emissions of greenhouse gases alter the

composition of the Earth's atmosphere so
that it traps additional heat radiated by
the earth, thus increasing the likelihood
of global warming.

DEPLETION OF OZONE LAYER-

 The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet rays

that are harmful to people, flora, and
fauna.
 Its depletion is caused by pollution of the
stratosphere by substances that catalyze
the decomposition of ozone (O3). Fig no.-2 : Showing Ozone Depletion
ACIDIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENT-

 Air pollution by substances that form acids

acidifies the environment.
 Acid deposition can directly damage buildings,
materials, and plants.The three main acidic
substances are sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides,
and ammonia
Fig no.-3 : Showing Ocean Acidification
EUTROPHICATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT –

 Eutrophication of the environment occurs when

an excessive supply of plant nutrients disrupt
ecological processes in water bodies or in soil.
 One manifestation of eutrophication is an
undesirably large quantity of algae in ponds and
lakes, which leads to a shortage of oxygen.
Fig no.-4 : Showing Acid Rain
DISPERTION OF TOXIC SUBSTANCE-

 Many chemicals, heavy metals, radioactive

substances and other toxic or hazardous
substances
 are released to the environment in industrial
pollution or waste or in consumer products.
 Some toxic materials, such as pesticides, are
deliberately dispersed into the environment. Fig no.-5 : Showing Different Pollutants

DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTES –

 The disposal of solid wastes involves collection,

treatment, processing, recycling, reuse and
incineration, discharge, and dumping.
 Here disposal is represented as the total
quantity of solid waste dumped annually, apart
from dredge spoil, manure, phosphoric acid
gypsum, and polluted soil.
Fig no.-6 : Showing Waste Generation Types
Biodiversity Indicators

 Biodiversity indicators and indices are

based on the abundance, absence, or
composition of selected species or
communities.
 They vary from single-species indicators
to complex composite indicators.
 Suitable indicator species have to be
selected in order to be representative
for certain phenomena or sensitive to
particular environmental changes.
 Therefore, the appearance and
dominance of certain communities can
be associated with states of ecosystem
health.
Fig no.-7 : Showing Types of Biodiversity
Fig no.-8 : Showing Process of Biodiversity
Fig no.-9 : Showing Process of Biodiversity Loss
 Biodiversity Indicators includes:

 Species of national interest

 Designated areas
 Species diversity
 Abundance and distribution of selected
species
 Red List Index for species
 Ecosystem coverage
 Habitats of interest
 Livestock genetic diversity
 Nationally designated protected areas
 Sites designated under the Habitats and
Birds
 Directives

Fig no.-10 : Showing Species affecting Biodiversity

 ECOSYSTEM

 Ecosystem diversity is a measure of the diversity of ecosystems or habitats that

exist in a given region.
 A greater number of healthy and productive ecosystems means a healthier
environment overall.
 As an environmental indicator, the current loss of biodiversity tells us that natural
systems are facing strains unlike any in the recent past.

Fig no.-11 : Showing Ecosystem

Climate indicators

 Production and consumption of ozone

depleting substances
 Greenhouse gas emission trends
 Progress to greenhouse gas emission targets
 Global and temperature
 Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations
 Mean precipitation
 Precipitation extremes
 Storms
 Air pollution by ozone and health
 Glaciers
 Snow cover
 Greenland ice sheet

Fig no.-12 : Showing Greenhouse Effect

Transport indicators
 Average age of the vehicle fleet
 Capacity of infrastructure network
 Energy efficiency and specific CO2 emissions
 Exceeding incidences of air quality objectives due to traffic
 Fragmentation of land and ecosystems
 Freight transport demand
 Fuel prices
 Load factors for freight transport
 Occupancy rates of passenger vehicles
 Passenger transport demand
 Proportion of vehicle fleet meeting certain emission standards
 Real change in transport prices by mode
 Size of the vehicle fleet
 Specific air pollutant emissions
 Traffic noise: exposure and annoyance
 Transport emissions of air pollutants
 Transport emissions of greenhouse gases
 Transport final energy consumption by mode
 Transport infrastructure investments
 Use of cleaner and alternative fuels
Fig no.-13 : Showing Effects of Transport Modes
Water indicators
 Use of freshwater resources
 Oxygen consuming substances in rivers
 Nutrients in freshwater
 Nutrients in transitional, coastal and
marine waters
 Bathing water quality
 Chlorophyll in transitional, coastal and
marine waters
 Urban waste water treatment
 Hazardous substances in marine
organisms
 Emission intensity of agriculture
 Emission intensity of domestic sector
Fig no.-14 : Showing Causes of Water Pollution
 Emission intensity of manufacturing
industry
RESOURCE DEPLETION

 Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished.

Non- Renewable Natural

Renewable resources resources
resources

 In an effort to offset the depletion of resources, theorists have come up with the
concept of depletion accounting. Better known as ‘green accounting,' depletion
accounting aims to account for nature's value on an equal footing with the market
economy.
 Resource depletion accounting uses data provided from countries to estimate the
adjustments needed due to their use and depletion of the natural capital available
for us.
FOOD PRODUCTION

 It is our ability to grow food to

nourish the human
population.
 The growth of the human
population is straining our
ability to grow and distribute
adequate amounts of food. So,
demand of food is outpacing
supply.
 In some areas, the
productivity of agricultural
ecosystems has declined
because of soil
degradation, crop
diseases, and unfavorable
weather conditions such as
drought or flooding.
Fig no.-15 : Showing Food Supply Chain
TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS

•Indicators used to assess ecosystem health fall under one of three categories:
physical, chemical, or biological.
•Physical and chemical indicators are measures of the physical and chemical
components of the ecosystem, whereas biological indicators refer to organisms,
species, or communities whose characteristics show the presence of specific
environmental conditions.
•Indicators most frequently represent a change in condition over a period of time or
geographic area and in some cases, a combination of the two.
•An ecosystem should be in a state of homeostasis, or internal stability.
•The physical, chemical, and biological components of that system should be within
their normal range and should help to maintain the equilibrium.
Fig no.-16 : Showing Ecological Indicators
ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY AND ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

Includes: Sustainable use

 Marine Trophic Index of seas  Forest: growing stock, increment

and fellings
 Fragmentation of natural and semi-  Forest: deadwood
natural areas
 Agriculture: nitrogen balance
 Nutrients in transitional, coastal and  Agriculture: area under
marine waters management practices potentially
 Freshwater quality supporting biodiversity
 Fisheries: commercial fish stocks
 Aquaculture: effluent water quality
from finfish farms
 Ecological Footprint of countries
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS ARE USED TO DO FOLLOWING:

1) Assess conditions and trends,

2) Educate various stakeholder groups,
3) Raise public and decision maker awareness,
4) Communicate information on complex issues,
5) Track progress toward management goals,
6) Prioritize environmental issues,
7) Address identified data gaps,
8) Identify research needs,
9) Evaluate project, plan, or program performance
10) Develop strategic plans.
THANK YOU