On this page:
Environmental indicators summarise complex information about our environment into key measures – which may be physical, chemical, biological or socio-economic – so that we can understand what’s happening in our environment. We measure these indicators regularly so we can detect changes in the environment over time.
It’s a bit like measuring our body temperature as an indicator of our health. If we have a temperature we rely on more tests and our doctors experience to find out what's wrong. Just like when we have a temperature, indicators do not tell us exactly what's wrong, but must be backed by more information and sound knowledge.
Because the environment is interrelated many environmental indicators link together to give us a clearer picture of what causes environmental problems. For example, how we use the land affects the water quality in streams. Knowing this, we can take appropriate actions to fix problems before it’s too late.
Why we measure indicators
Our environment is a complex web of interactions. But indicators tell us about key changes in our environment so we can use indicators to gain an understanding of the condition of the environment as a whole.
Environment Waikato is developing a set of indicators to measure and report how well we look after our region's environment. We will use these indicators to:
- report regularly on the state of the region’s environment
- measure how well we are doing in achieving environmental goals
- increase the awareness and understanding of environmental issues
- prioritise environmental issues and improve decision-making.
How we present the results
Use our navigation bar to move around each indicator. We present information on our indicators as:
- Key points - summary of the results.
- Report card - the results and why they are important.
- Technical information - information on how and where we collect the data and how we compile the indicator.
- Data - source data used for the graphs.
In our environmental indicators pages you will find indicators grouped into:
- parts of our environment - coasts, inland waters, land, native plants and animals, people and the economy
- environmental issues - solid wastes, hazardous substances, and transport.
Because our environment is complex and interrelated you will also find 'related indicators' in each section. For example the land section will present indicators that tell us about the land, and links to related indicators that tells us about the affects of land use on our streams, rivers, lakes and ground water.
Developing indicators
The indicators we've selected are based on the best scientific understanding currently available about our Region's environment. They are being developed together with the Ministry for the Environment and other agencies and interest groups. Some important environmental issues are not yet measured because we don't have enough data or lack robust measurement techniques.