THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) needs to increase the frequency of release and develop data for over half of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators that are applicable to the local setting.
In a recent forum, National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Staff Director Nieva T. Natural said this makes meeting the SDGs a daunting task.
Natural said of the 233 indicators that are applicable to the Philippines, only 103 indicators can easily be monitored since these will be drawn from regularly conducted surveys.
“The challenge extends beyond these indicators as many of these data require further disaggregation; that is by income, by sex, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, and geographic location as basis in establishing baselines, developing and implementing targeted policies to address the well-being of the most vulnerable and marginalized population across sectors,” Natural added.
The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) has set a Tier Classification for Global SDG Indicators. The 103 indicators for the Philippines are considered Tier 1 indicators, which are conceptually clear and have internationally established methodology and standards.
The UNSD said these data are also regularly produced by countries for at least 50 percent of countries and of the population in every region where the indicator is relevant.
However, Natural said around 130 more indicators are considered Tier 2 and Tier 3 for the Philippines. Monitoring these indicators can be difficult since not all the data are produced regularly, if they are available at all.
There are 59 indicators that are considered Tier 2 for the Philippines. These can be monitored using existing data but the frequency of the data collection is not regular.
Natural said the Philippines classifies 71 indicators as Tier 3. According to the UNSD, “no internationally established methodology or standards are yet available for the indicator[s], but methodology/standards are being (or will be) developed or tested.”
“To ensure that our resources are maximized and all sectors will be accounted for, we suggest to emphasize the data, strengthen the data collection availability and accessibility (especially) the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of the SDGs,” Natural said.
Natural said among the most important SDG indicators that need to be prioritized are the environment and natural resources (ENR) statistics.
She said four goals in the 17 SDGs are related to the environment and natural resources. Most of the indicators in these goals are not generated by the Philippine Statistical System (PSS).
Based on the preliminary baseline data submitted by the Philippines, data gaps exist in Goal 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patters, particularly the indicator on hazardous waste generated per capita and proportion of hazardous waste treated.
Data gaps also exist in Goal 15 particularly on the Progress towards sustainable forest management; Forest Cover Change (from close to open forest); Red List Index; proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked; and progress towards national targets established in accordance with Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011 to 2020, among others.
Apart from addressing data gaps, Natural added that there is a need to harmonize the data generated and released by line agencies to “ensure data consistency.”
“Having standardized metrics of measuring achievements of our goals and targets will ensure data consistency that we can use for informed policymaking. This is to facilitate a more effective and coherent process of analyzing historical trends and projecting future scenarios that will aid us in development planning,” Natural said.
Based on PSA’s latest information on the SDGs, of the Tier 1 indicators, the bulk of the data or 67 percent will be sourced from the surveys and administrative data of other government agencies.
The PSA said some 32 percent will be sourced from PSA surveys, census and administrative data and one percent will be sourced from the data of International Agencies.
The SDGs or Global Goals is a set of 17 socioeconomic goals that 193 UN-member countries like the Philippines committed to meet by 2030. The goals are composed of around 169 targets and over 300 global indicators. The SDGs were adopted in September 2015.