MIRA Indicator Report 2011
The mission of MIRA is to provide up-to-date and reliable environmental information to policy makers, environmental experts and interested citizens. In this way, we hope to make a useful contribution to the environmental debate in Flanders. Indicators illustrate the progress in a given environmental issue and show where additional efforts are required.
The following is a small selection of the 104 indicators included in the report:
Water use in Flanders has declined by 10 % in the last decade.
The 2010 targets for the annual average concentration of airborne particles (PM10 en PM2.5) were achieved in time in Flanders.
More than two-thirds of household waste goes to materials recovery.
Measurements suggest a great deal of positive developments for pesticides in surface water, but new problem substances are being identified.
The 9 % rise in 2010 breaks the falling trend for greenhouse gas emissions in Flanders.
Despite the decrease in SO2 emissions, Flanders just fell short of the 2010 target for acidifying emissions. The NOx emissions in particular continue to be problematic.
Precipitation in Belgium increases, with wetter winters with more days of precipitation and fewer but more intense showers in summer. It has been scientifically proven that human activities contribute to climate change.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) emissions show a growing trend due to the increasing use of diesel, wood-fired building heating, and burning of waste in open fires.
Transport damage costs are in general not compensated for by transport taxes. A diesel passenger vehicle pays roughly 69 % of its external costs.
New this year is the web tool Dynamic Core Set Environmental Data which allows the user to retrieve the latest data on environmental pressure (resource use and emissions) à la carte. The figures are available for Flanders but can also be broken down by sector (e.g. households, transport), subsector and activity level. The results can be downloaded in different formats (excel, jpg, png). With this interactive tool, we aim to further improve the transparency and usability of environmental data.
The Indicator Report 2011 offers a selection of 104 environmental indicators, ordered according to the DPSIR chain. More (updated) indicators and background information can be found on MIRA’s Dutch website.
researchers: MIRA, the Environment Reporting Unit
