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| 2.3.1.1 |
Although
the approach to reporting of the environmental
baseline for the study has been founded
on the natural capital stock concept, the
data which make up the environmental, natural
resource and cultural heritage baseline
have been obtained from what can be considered
a 'hierarchy' of data types which reflect
a number of stages in the study.
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| 2.3.1.2 |
Four
different levels of data compilation can
be identified in the following stages:
- data
compiled to calculate baseline values
for the sustainability indicators;
- data
compiled to provide supporting information
to assist users in predicting the changes
in indicators (primarily as help screen
data in CASET);
- data
collected through the additional study
baseline surveys to supplement existing
baseline datasets, following identification
of gaps in these datasets early in the
study; and
- any
additional data compiled during the evaluation
of the natural capital stock, essentially
to fill any remaining gaps in the baseline
information.
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| 2.3.1.3 |
The
components of the environmental baseline
information are shown in the diagram in
Figure 2.3a. The
sources of data collated during these four
stages are described in more detail below.
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| 2.3.2 |
Baseline
Data for Indicators
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| 2.3.2.1 |
The
process of identification and gathering
of information to support the indicators
was initiated during the development of
sustainability indicators and the development
of evaluative criteria for them which is
reported in Topic Report 6 (on Guiding Principles,
Indicators and Evaluative Criteria).
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2.3.2.2
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The
environmental baseline datasets which support
the nominated indicators have been compiled
using information from Government Departments/
Bureaux and external sources such as NGOs. |
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| 2.3.3 |
Supporting
Information for Indicators
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| 2.3.3.1 |
Once
the data to derive the indicator baseline
values had been collected, the data were
input to the developing CASET system. As
the prototype CASET developed, the requirement
for supporting information in the form of
help screens for the indicators was identified.
The function of the help data is to assist
the CASET user in determining the effect
of the scenario being tested on the indicators
by providing relevant information on the
background to the indicator, its baseline
derivation and trends, reference values
and data compiled from various relevant
sources which augments the information previously
collated and relating specifically to the
indicator's baseline derivation.
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2.3.3.2
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The
purpose of collecting this supporting information
was therefore to widen the baseline environmental
data already available for the indicators
from existing sources. Data which were not
available for the derivation of baselines
for some indicators required specific study
surveys and these are described in the next
section. |
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| 2.3.4 |
Supporting
Information for Indicators
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| 2.3.4.1 |
To
supplement existing information, four environmental
baseline surveys are being carried out to
fill gaps in the data relating to the proposed
indicators. The four environmental baseline
surveys are:
- Non-transport
related noise;
- Toxic
pollutants in air;
- Toxics
in marine sediment and biota; and
- Habitat
mapping and conservation ranking.
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2.3.4.2
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The
data obtained from each survey will be used
for a number of purposes including completing
the baseline datasets to support the indicators,
adding to the overall body of baseline study
data, and in the case of the habitat surveys
in providing the information needed to produce
the habitat mapping which will be included
on the GIS. |
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