Federal State of the Environment Reports

A Vision for “Federal State of the Environment (SOE) Reporting in Canada”

In April 1997, the five natural resource (5NR) departments^* approved a vision for SOE reporting that responds to demands for more focused and timely environmental information. This vision was designed to promote a federal government-wide commitment to reporting to Canadians on the state of the country’s environment.

* The five natural resource (5NR) departments were:

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada;
• Environment Canada;
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
• Health Canada; and
• Natural Resources Canada.

Current State of the Environment Reports

• Ecological Assessment of the Boreal Shield Ecozone

   This assessment reviews findings and highlights current trends relating to environmental stresses on the Boreal Shield ecozone, provides direction to strengthen national programs aimed at addressing environmental concerns and developing remedial and preventative strategies, and, finally, focuses on the links of science with policy.^*
• Forest Health in Canada: An Overview 1998

   To order a copy, contact the Atlantic Forestry Centre, CFS (phone 506-452-3500). The report is available free of charge.
• Human Activity and the Environment 2000, 2003
• Nutrients in the Canadian Environment: Reporting on the State of Canada's Environment and Highlights
  
   The present report looks at how the Canadian environment is being affected by nitrogen and phosphorus compounds that are released as a result of human activities.^*
• The Health of Our Water – Toward Sustainable Agriculture in Canada
• The State of Municipal Wastewater Effluents in Canada and Backgrounder

   This report outlines the sources and the nature of contaminants entering municipal sewer systems, the degree of municipal wastewater treatment across Canada, the wide variety of impacts that municipal wastewater effluents can have on water quality and on plant and animal life, and the implications of these impacts for human health and beneficial water uses, such as shellfish harvesting and recreation.^*
• The State of Canada's Environment 1996
• State of the Great Lakes 2001, State of the Great Lakes 2003
• Tracking Key Environmental Issues

What Are State of the Environment (SOE) Reports?

State of the environment (SOE) reports attempt to answer five key questions:

1. What is happening in the environment (i.e., how are environmental conditions and trends changing)?
2. Why is it happening (i.e., how are human activities and other stresses linked to the issue in question)?
3. Why is it significant (i.e., what are its ecological and socioeconomic effects)?
4. What is being done about it (i.e., how is society responding to the issues through government and industry action and voluntary initiatives)?
5. Is this sustainable (i.e., are human actions depleting environmental capital and causing deterioration of ecosystem health)?

The two main purposes of SOE reports are to foster the use of science in policy- and decision-making and to report to Canadians on the condition of their environment. Each SOE report provides an easily understood overview of an important environmental issue for the non-scientist, examines the key trends of the issue, discusses links with other issues, and describes the efforts of government, industry, and others to address the issue and make progress towards environmental sustainability.

SOE reports are prepared in many countries and regions throughout the world. In Canada, SOE reports have been published by several federal departments/agencies as well as by a good number of provinces/territories and municipalities.

The Approach to Preparing SOE Reports

The approach to preparing SOE reports is to build on existing knowledge of environmental issues. It stresses partnerships, takes advantage of ongoing monitoring and research, and uses advanced technology for communicating information to Canadians. It promotes the incorporation of SOE report criteria into the design of policy-driven, science-based assessments. This is to be supported by a nationwide ecological monitoring network and linked to regularly reported indicators. This approach will ensure that Canadians continue to have access to information on the state of their environment and that the needs of decision-makers are met.

What are the minimum criteria for SOE reports?

Content criteria

SOE reports should:

• state and define a broad public policy question (a public concern);
• provide an overview of the most current scientific understanding of the issue in question;
• examine the key trends within the issue and, where applicable, cross-links with other issues, and the significance of those trends;
• describe the efforts of governments, industry, and others in addressing the issue of concern;
• include the scientific responses to the policy question, as part of its analysis and in its executive summary or highlights section;
• include the indicators that track key trends in the issue being addressed, making use of relevant existing national environmental indicators; and
• include an analysis of environment-related changes since the last assessment, if applicable.

Presentation criteria

Each SOE report should:

• be written in a manner that non-specialists can understand;
• include a concise executive summary or highlights section;
• make reference to appropriate monitoring programs that are the source of ecological data (e.g., EMAN projects, Forest Health Network surveys, sentinel fishery projects, soil quality benchmark surveys), support the indicators, and provide information for answering policy questions; and
• document the contributors to, and reviewers of, the report.

Contact Knowledge Integration Strategies Division

Please send any comments to the following address:

Knowledge Integration Strategies Division
Environment Canada
7^th floor, 70 Crémazie
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
CANADA

Fax: (819) 994-5738
Comments to: Knowledge Integration Strategies Division
E-mail address: soeadmin@ec.gc.ca.

^* This report is available through our Inquiry Center in printed version or in PDF format from our website. For more information contact: Knowledge Integration Strategies Division (NIRO) or Environment Canada Inquiry Centre.