State of the Environment Reporting

In the ACT, State of the Environment reporting is a requirement of the ACT Commissioner for the Environment Act 1993 . Since 1997, State of the Environment reports for the Australian Capital Region have been prepared by this office as part of an agreement with the member councils of the region.

So far, five State of the Environment reports have been completed. These are:

• 2003 State of the Environment Report
• 2000 State of the Environment Report (also on CD-ROM)
• 1997 State of the Environment Report (also on CD-ROM, and on this website:
• • ACT Report—executive summary, issues and recommendations
  • Australian Capital Region—executive summary only
• 1994–95 State of the Environment Report—out of print (but extracts are available on request)
• 1993–94 State of the Environment Report—printed report (cost $22)

Structure of State of the Environment reporting

The Themes-Issues-Indicators hierarchy

State of the Environment reporting has adopted a framework of themes, issues and indicators to assess and report the environment.

Themes are the main things you are likely to think of when you think of the environment. Air (or atmosphere), water, land, biodiversity and human settlement often come to mind; and it is these elements which we have classified as themes to provide the overriding structure for the Report.

Issues are the things you might be concerned about within each of the themes. The issues we have suggested because of their general relevance to many regions are (for each theme):

• Atmosphere: Air quality, Climate and Greenhouse
• Biodiversity: Conserving biodiversity
• Human settlement: Community wellbeing, Resource use 
• Catchments: Catchment quality (combines the Land and Water themes as reported before 2003).

Indicators are the key measurements, with analysis and interpretation, that are used to assess these issues. For example, to report on the issue of air quality, we need specific air quality measurements such as carbon monoxide levels, and measurements of key pressures that could cause a decline in air quality such as increases in motor vehicle traffic.

A look at the indicators used to assess any of the issues considered in this Report highlights the fact that the indicators do not necessarily relate only to one theme or to one issue. The Condition-Pressure-Response (C-P-R) model was the basis for relating indicators to each of the issues and to each other.It is adapted from the Pressure-State-Response model of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Condition-Pressure-Response model

The "Condition-Pressure-Response" model is the approach we use in State of the Environment reporting to decide which data we collect, analyse and report.

Condition indicators present the data that tells us how the environment is at any particular time. A condition indicator for air quality, for example, could be the amount of carbon monoxide in the air, whether this amount affects our health, and whether the amount of carbon monoxide is increasing or decreasing. It is like asking a friend "How are you going?".

Pressure indicators present data for the main human activities that could potentially adversely affect the condition of the environment. For example, we know that motor vehicle exhaust is a main cause of air pollution in Australia, and the more we drive our cars the worse it is. So we have pressure indicator that tells us how bad this pressure is and whether it is getting better or worse. We have called it "Motor vehicle use", and it uses data about how much we use our cars each year, and how many cars are being used.

Response indicators present data about the main things we are doing to alleviate pressures, or to improve the condition of the environment. For example, our air quality can be improved by increasing our use of public transport, car-pooling, or improving fuel quality.

We have always stressed the interaction between condition, pressure and response indicators. Whereas there is always criticism of, and concern for, the adequacy of the "Condition-Pressure-Response" model, we see it is as a fundamental method of ensuring that analysis of the environment is conducted in a systematic way and that data are collected in such a fashion as to allow a reliable evaluation of the environment and of the way it may be changing as a result of human pressure.

Over the last decade, the use of this model has slowly shifted in its application. Recent reports combine condition, pressure and response information into a single discussion in one indicator paper.