A review of the role, status and direction of state of the environment reporting

The present resurgence of interest in reporting on the State of the Environment (SoE) may be attributed, principally, to the information demands of sustainable development, and the need for policy makers and the wider community to assess progress in protecting the environment and allocate environmental expenditure to priority areas. SoE is far wider in its responsibilities than solely reporting on environmental condition; it must also report on human-environment interactions and management responses. The niche for SoE lies in providing a synoptic and integrated view of social, economic and environmental issues, spanning resource sectors and bridging the gap between science and community. However, SoE faces various dilemmas in achieving the multiple objectives which it has been assigned. Identifying and responding to the needs of the 'information starved' while hoping to extend the range of decision criteria of the 'information independent' are some of the challenges for SoE