WSSD WEHAB: Contents

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed for the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) five key areas for particular focus:

Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and Biodiversity

(in short: "WEHAB"; see also the WEHAB papers at the UN site,  Kofi Annan's official press release (SG/SM/8239 ENV/DEV/637 of 14/05/2002) and Vivek Rai's UN Chronicle article "If WEHAB Today, We Have Tomorrow").

The WEHAB Dashboard is a first attempt to quantify the current situation for these five themes. It is a re-composition of the indicators contained in the standard UN CSD Dashboard, which is downloadable here. The data have been compiled by John O'Connor.on behalf of IISD's Consultative Group on Sustainable Development Indicators.

A   Dashboard view
This view serves to give a quick comparison of several countries, or several years for the same country. ACP scores 428 points for "WEHAB Index", or rank 15 among all 235 countries, which is considered "bad".

B   two-panel view
In this view, the panels are larger and show the full indicator names. On the right, the distribution for the indicator "WEHAB Index". On the Y-axis, the number of points is shown, while the X-axis shows the respective rank. Morocco scores 525 points, or rank 125.

C   analysis view Water
The analytical view consists of two small panels plus a large window for analysis, which may be a distribution, scatterplot, time series or map view. In this example, the distribution of the index "Water" is shown; Develop. Countries scores 528 points. In comparison, ACP arrives at 481 points (rank 15), which is considered "average" (rank 1: NAFTA, worst at rank 16: OPEC).

D   analysis view Energy
Distribution of the Energy index: Develop. Countries scores 500 points. In comparison, ACP arrives at 476 points (rank 12), which is considered "average" (rank 1: Mediterranean, worst at rank 16: NAFTA).

E   analysis view Health
Distribution of the Health index: Southern America scores 715 points. In comparison, ACP arrives at 117 points (rank 15), which is considered "serious" (rank 1: EU-15, worst at rank 16: Least DC).

F   analysis view Agriculture
Distribution of the Agriculture index: Develop. Countries scores 570 points. In comparison, ACP arrives at 401 points (rank 13), which is considered "bad" (rank 1: Oceania, worst at rank 16: Africa).

G   analysis view Biodiversity
Distribution of the Biodiversity index: Develop. Countries scores 345 points. In comparison, ACP arrives at 626 points (rank 4), which is considered "fair" (rank 1: Oceania, worst at rank 16: Mediterranean).

H   analysis view WEHAB
Distribution of the WEHAB Index index: EU-15 scores 618 points. In comparison, Africa arrives at 411 points (rank 15), which is considered "bad" (rank 1: Southern America, worst at rank 16: Least DC).

I   map view Water
The map of ACP shows the distribution of the index "Water": Botswana scores 842 points. In comparison, Niger arrives at 648 points (rank 25), which is considered "fair" (best in group ACP: Lesotho, worst at rank 47: Sierra Leone).

J   map view Energy
Distribution of the Energy index: Kenya scores 758 points. In comparison, Gabon arrives at 507 points (rank 12), which is considered "average" (best in group ACP: Dominican Republic, worst at rank 48: Trinidad and Tobago).

K   map view Health
Distribution of the Health index: Kenya scores 660 points. In comparison, Gabon arrives at 566 points (rank 15), which is considered "fair" (best in group ACP: Cuba, worst at rank 48: Niger).

L   map view Agriculture
Distribution of the Agriculture index: Kenya scores 466 points. In comparison, Gabon arrives at 577 points (rank 24), which is considered "fair" (best in group ACP: Swaziland, worst at rank 48: Mauritania).

M   map view Biodiversity
Distribution of the Biodiversity index: Kenya scores 543 points. In comparison, Gabon arrives at 169 points (rank 41), which is considered "serious" (best in group ACP: Rwanda, worst at rank 48: Lesotho).

N   map view WEHAB
Distribution of the WEHAB Index index: Kenya scores 625 points. In comparison, Gabon arrives at 492 points (rank 27), which is considered "average" (best in group ACP: Cuba, worst at rank 48: Sierra Leone).

O   scatterplot
A simple scatterplot may reveal interesting insights. For example, how is "Access to piped water" linked to other indicators, such as "Adequate sewage disposal"? Click into the "recycling" icon to perform a systematic analysis of the linkages between all indicators.