Increase
in territory permanently occupied by urbanisation; infrastructure;
waste-tipping and quarrying
RD-3
Resource
Depletion
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
Total
annual increase in territory which is permanently occupied by urbanisation,
infrastructure, waste-tipping and quarrying expressed in square kilometres per
year.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Partly
deals with natural resources in Chapter 5: The themes and targets of the
programme, section 5.3: Protection of nature and biodiversity, table 10.
Agenda
21:
Calls
for land-use management that takes into account the (possibly contradictory)
land-use demands of agriculture, industry, transport, urban development, green
zones, nature areas and other fundamental needs
(see
mainly Chapter 7: Promoting sustainable human settlement development).
International
conventions and agreements:
Article
130 of the Treaty on the European Union (Maastricht, 1992) calls for prudent
and rational utilisation of natural resources.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
3
(40%)
Policy
Relevance:
5
(3.0)
Analytical
Soundness:
4
(3.0)
Responsiveness:
13
(2.3)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
The
percentage of the total territory which is permanently occupied by urbanisation
and infrastructure.
3 Significance
Purpose:
Territory
which can still be used multifunctionally is considered to be a natural
resource. Irreversible occupation of territory is considered to deplete this
resource. The indicator represents the increase in use which reflects the
overall pressure on the use of territory for urbanisation and infrastructure.
Urbanisation and infrastructure are considered the main pressures on the use of
territory.
Relevance:
The
use of territory for urbanisation and infrastructure is considered
irreversible. The relevance of the indicator is that it gives insight into the
tempo of the irreversible changes in the use of territory. However, the
indicator is very general and provides no direct guidance for policy development.
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
There
is a linkage with use of resources for energy production because urbanisation
and infrastructure facilitate living, working and traffic which all use energy:
RD-7 (Use of mineral oil as a fuel), RD-2 (Use of energy per capita), RD-5
(Electricity production from fossil fuels). There is also a linkage with the
use of other resources for living and working: RD-8 (Surface water abstraction
for drinking water production) and RD-1 (Water consumption per capita,
including Ground water abstraction for drinking water purposes). Finally there
is a linkage with the use of resources for construction: RD-6 (Timber
balance/import).
Targets:
Reference
levels for this indicator can be derived from existing policy targets in the
field of urban and infrastructural planning.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
yearly increase in the use of territory is a measure of the growth of societal
activity. The indicator includes only the use of territory by infrastructure
and urbanisation and not the use for agriculture and recreation as the latter
are not considered to be irreversible. Urbanisation includes areas in use for
living and small societal activity, it excludes other uses such as use for
industrial areas. Infrastructure includes roads, railways, ports and airports.
It may be difficult to distinguish urban areas from, for instance, industrial
areas. Therefore the indicator will never be very exact. It is expected however
to give a good indication of the trend in the pressure on the resource.
Measurement
methods:
The
indicator is measured in square kilometres. The areas for infrastructure and
urbanisation have to be added up. Possibly Corine Land Cover can be used for
this purpose.
Limitations
of the indicator:
The
indicator is rather general and will not show dramatic changes as a result of
policy on urban and infrastructural planning on the short run.
Alternative
definitions:
The
indicator could also be expressed as a modal split which shows not only the use
of territory by infrastructure and urbanisation but also the use by industry,
agriculture, recreation and nature. It could also be expressed as a percentage
of total territory or as a percentage of total use. Both possibilities could
make the indicator more responsive but at the same time will make the indicator
less useful for policy development.
