Indicators are variables used to measure the achievement of an objective. In the project approach, they are notably used in the project's logical framework. In the sector approach and in general budget support operations, they are used to monitor progress in the achievement of the supported (sectoral or national) programme. From an environmental perspective it is important both to select adequate environmental indicators and also to carefully select non-environmental indicators, which otherwise may promote the pursuit of environmentally damageable objectives.

Specific indicators

Specific indicators allow diagnosing trends, measuring progress and making cross-country (or corss-regional) comparisons. They focus on specific issues. Useful sources on specififc indicators notably inlcude:

 EarthTrends Environmental Information, World Ressources Institute (WRI)
 Environment Statistics by Country, NationMaster
 Global Environment Outlook, UNEP
 Indicators about Europe's environment, European Environment Agency
 Indicators, UN System-Wide Earthwatch
 Millenium Development Goals (MDG), UNDP
 The Little Green Data Book (World Bank)
 UNEP - One Planet Many People
 Where is the Wealth of Nations ? World Bank

Indices

Comprehensive indices are aggregates of indicators which provide an overall vision of performance or, in the case of the ecological footprint, of the level of pressure on world resources. They provide useful aggregate information, but be aware that their value is sensitive to the choice of weightings for their various components, and they entail a risk of losing sight of specific problems to be solved. Useful information sources notably include:

 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index
 Ecological Footprint, Global Footprint Network
 Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index, SEDAC

Methodological approaches

At the level of a country or at smaller scale (sectors, programmes, projects), indicators should be identified on a case by case basis. The following links provide methodological recommendations mainly for country-wide indicators.

 Environmental performance reviews: A Practical Introduction, OECD, 1997
 Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies, UN Commission on Sustainable Development, 2001
 Indicators, UN System-Wide Earthwatch
 Key environmental indicators, OECD
 OECD Environmental Indicators: development, Measurement and Use (2003)
 Sustainable Development Indicators : Proposals for a Way Forward (IISD, 2005)

Other useful sources

 A Global Directory of Indicator Initiatives, IISD
 Developing and Applying Poverty Environment Indicators (WWF, 2004)
 Environment Statistics Section, UN
 Environmental economics and indicators (World Bank)
 Poverty and the Environment: Measuring the links (DFID, 2002)