Indicators for sustainable development, 2009
Important signals about the society
Published:
Imports from developing countries have more than doubled since 2003, the spawning stock of cod in the Northeast Arctic is increasing and more Norwegians are receiving disability pensions. These are some of many results to be found in a new report on indicators for sustainable development.
Statistics Norway has published a new report on indicators that put focus on important aspects of sustainable development. The indicator set is an important tool for the follow-up of Norway’s strategy for sustainable development.
Indicators for sustainable development shall provide signals about our present course; can it be maintained sustainably in the long run, or does it have to be adjusted in one or several areas? They are meant to be a tool for those that shall work out and follow up a national policy for sustainable development. In autumn 2007, the new Norwegian strategy for sustainable development was presented in the 2008 National Budget. It focuses on how Norway can contribute to sustainable development globally and ensure sustainable development at national level. The strategy has seven priority areas, and a core set of indicators has been developed to describe trends within these areas (see table).
Ideally, the indicator set as a whole should give a picture of whether or not Norway’s overall development is sustainable. It is still a long way to go before this goal is reached, but anyhow, the indicators serve an important function by throwing light on important development features in different areas.
A basic, but not necessarily sufficient, condition for sustainable development is that our total resources, or capital in the broad sense - produced capital, financial capital, human capital in the form of knowledge and education, and natural resources and environmental capital, must be maintained over time. Historically, the welfare development in Norway and other countries has occurred through a strong growth in human capital and produced capital. Many will claim that this has taken place at the expense of nature, in other words, we have become richer and live longer, but at the same time nature and environment have been put under considerable pressure.
This article gives a brief description of three of Norway’s indicators of sustainable development. More details are provided in Brunvoll et al. 2009.
| Indicators | Priority areas 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwegian official development assistance, in NOK and as percentage of gross national income | International cooperation for sustainable development and combating poverty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Imports from least developed countries and from all developing countries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Norwegian emissions of greenhouse gases compared with the Kyoto Protocol target | Climate, ozone and long-range air pollution | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Emissions of NOx, NH 3 , SO 2 and NMVOCs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Bird population index - population trends for breeding bird species in terrestrial ecosystems | Biodiversity and cultural heritage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Proportion of inland water bodies classified as "clearly not at risk" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Proportion of coastal waters classified as "clearly not at risk" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Trend in standards of maintenance of protected buildings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Energy use per unit of GDP | Natural resources | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Size of spawning stock of Northeast Arctic cod and Norwegian spring-spawning herring, compared with the precautionary reference points | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Irreversible losses of biologically productive areas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Potential exposure to hazardous substances | Hazardous chemicals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Net national income per capita by sources of income | Sustainable economic and social development | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Trends in income distribution | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Generational accounts: Need to tighten public sector finances as a share of GDP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Population by highest level of educational attainment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Disability pensioners and long-term unemployed persons as a percentage of the population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Life expectancy at birth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | The set of indicators does not cover the priority area "Sami perspectives on environmental and natural resource management" in Norway's strategy for sustainable development. |
| Source: Report No. 1 (2007-2008) to the Storting: National Budget 2008. | |
Imports from least developed countries and from all developing countries
If we are to succeed in advancing global sustainable development, one of the most important tasks is to reduce poverty. This is also the overriding objective of the UN Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2000. Contributing to sustainable development at global level is therefore also a key part of Norway’s sustainable development strategy. However, global poverty reduction is a complex task, and a number of factors are involved. The most important of these are believed to be good governance, appropriate international framework conditions and development assistance.
Calculations by the World Bank show a close correlation between economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. An important means of promoting economic development in these countries is to give them the opportunity to sell their goods and services. An international trade regime is important in this context.
Imports from developing countries increasing
Since 2003, imports to Norway from developing countries have more than doubled. From 2007 to 2008 imports increased by 16.8 per cent. The increase in imports from LDCs (7.8 per cent) was substantially less than for the other developing countries (17.1 per cent). This is a clear change from the year before, when imports from LDCs increased by over 30 per cent.
Imports from China are high
In 2008, imports from developing countries made up 14.3 per cent of total imports to Norway.
This is a small increase since 2007, when the percentage was 13.0. However, since 1992 the percentage has more than doubled. Most of the increased is caused by imports from China. In 2008, imports from China made up 45 per cent of total imports from developing countries. In spite of an import increase of 16.8 per cent from developing countries, the developing countries’ share of total imports has increased by only 1.3 percentage points. This is due to an increase in total imports to Norway by 6.1 per cent.
Next to China, Brazil is the developing country that Norway imports most from. In 2008, imports from Brazil made up 9.1 per cent of total imports from developing countries. Imports from both Botswana and Turkey made up a little below five per cent of total imports from developing countries.
Imports from LDCs modest
In 2008, imports from LDCs were mainly from Angola and Bangladesh. Norway’s imports from LDCs totalled NOK 1 819 million in 2008, which corresponds to 0.4 per cent of total imports to Norway. Imports from Angola are dominated by crude oil, valued at NOK 911 million in 2008, or 50 per cent of total imports from LDCs. Imports from Bangladesh are dominated by clothing and accessories. In 2008, the value of goods imported from Bangladesh was NOK 558 million, or 31 per cent of total imports from LDCs.
Natural resources. Size of spawning stock of Northeast Arctic cod and Norwegian spring-spawning herring, compared with the precautionary reference points
Fishing has been an important basis for settlement and economic activity throughout Norway's history. Sustainable management of fish resources means that they must not be so heavily exploited that there is a danger of poor recruitment to the stocks. Without sufficient recruitment, there is no basis for long-term, sustainable harvesting of these resources.
Both herring and cod are regarded to be key species in the ecosystems in the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea, i.e. they are crucial factors in the interaction between the species.
Spawning stock of cod over one million tonnes
The spawning stock of Northeast Arctic cod was estimated at 760 000 tonnes in 2008, and over 1 million tonnes in 2009. This is well above the precautionary level, and the spawning stock has not been at this level since 1947. The stock is expected to increase further.
It has been observed that an increasing part of the spawning cod is fished north of the traditional spawning areas in Lofoten. The phenomenon is not new, also in the period 1930-1950 there was spawning in more northern areas. In this period, like today, the sea water temperature was higher than normal, and this is probably one of the main reasons for this northern shift of spawning grounds (Gjøsæter et al. 2009).
Illegal fishing reduced
The stock of Northeast Arctic cod is classified as having full reproductive capacity and being harvested sustainably. Illegal fishing is still a considerable problem, but in recent years the scale of illegal fishing has been reduced. In 2008, the estimated amount of illegal catch was 15 000 tonnes, a substantial reduction from a level of about 100 000 tonnes a year in the first half of the 2000s.
The herring stock has also increased
The stock of Norwegian spring-spawning herring has increased considerably in recent years, and is now about 12 million tonnes, which is about the same level as in the 1950s. According to the 2009 annual report on marine resources and environment (Gjøsæter et al. 2009), this is because conditions in the sea have been favourable, the spawning stock is large, and the management plan is functioning well.
Disability pensioners and long-term unemployed persons as a percentage of the population
For most people, employment is an important basis for their income and a key to social inclusion. Although unemployment is low in Norway by international standards, the proportion of the population who receive a disability pension is high and rising. If a large proportion of the working age population is outside the labour market, this may be a serious threat to the maintenance of human capital. In the long term, this may affect the productive capacity of the economy and social stability, and thus the sustainability of society.
Number of disability pensioners increasing
By the end of 2008, a little over 11 per cent of the population between 18 and 66 years received either a disability pension or were long-term unemployed. Most people excluded from the labour market are disability pensioners, and they also accounted for most of the rise in total numbers. In 2008, there were 11 000 long-term unemployed in Norway (annual average), actually 3 000 persons less than the year before. There were 340 000 disability pensioners, an increase of 6 000 persons from 2007. The number of young people receiving disability pensions is showing a rising trend. In 2008, there were about 4 700 disability pensioners in the age group 18-25 years, 56 per cent young men and 44 per cent young women. In the population as a whole, women make up a larger proportion of disability pensioners than men.
Still a rather stable labour market
The unemployment figures from the Labour Force Survey, adjusted for seasonal variations, show that there were a little over 80 000 unemployed persons in March-April. Unemployment increased by 3 000 from January 2009 (as measured by the average of the three months from December to February) to April (as measured by the average of the three months from March to May). The unemployment rate was 3.1 per cent in April. Internationally, many other countries are experiencing more problems in the labour market than Norway.
References :
Brunvoll, F., M. Bergh, N. Holmengen, J.K. Hvalgård, L. Lindholt, V. Oestreich Nielsen, S.I. Pedersen, J. Ramm and T. Smith (2009): Viktige signaler om samfunnet . Indikatorer for bærekraftig utvikling 2009 (Important signals about the society. Indicators for sustainable development 2009). Reports 26/2009, Statistics Norway.
Gjøsæter, H., A. Dommasnes, T. Falkenhaug, M. Hauge, E. Johannesen, E. Olsen and Ø. Skagseth (red.) (2009): Havets ressurser og miljø 2009 . (Annual report on marine resources and environment 2009). Fisken og havet , Special issue 1-2009. Institute of Marine Research.
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