Environmental monitoring provides a description of the state of the environment, as well as identifies changes and warns for potential threats. The work consists of recurring, systematical studies. By comparing the current state to earlier measurements, changes in the environment can be discovered. In some specific cases, it also allows for evaluating if specific measures are achieving the desired effect. Sometimes additional investigations are necessary to conclude if an observed change will lead to problems in the environment.
Environmental monitoring is a long-term activity
Measurements over long time periods are often needed to conclude if a change is caused by human activity or if it is a natural variation. Therefore, environmental monitoring is a long-term activity that requires continuity. The Swedish EPA started its environmental monitoring in 1978. The Swedish time series are in many cases unique in their length.
Indispensable for the environmental work
The results from the environmental monitoring is indispensable for the environmental work, in planning and giving priority to future efforts.
The environmental monitoring has a strategic role in developing and evaluating the work with the Swedish environmental quality objectives. It informs the development of environmental quality standards. The results from the monitoring are also a core part of international reporting and official statistics regarding the state of the environment.
Access to the monitoring results give everyone a possibility of participating in the political debate on environmental issues.
Laws, conventions and environmental quality objectives decide what is monitored
What environmental monitoring focuses on is regulated by environmental legislation, the environmental quality objectives and Sweden's duties to report within the framework of international directives and conventions. The environmental politics of the European Union poses especially large demands on international reporting.
In the Government Bills on environment (Proposition 1990/91:90 & 1997/98:145) the government described its demands on an efficient environmental monitoring. It shall:
- describe the state of the environment,
- evaluate threats to the environment,
- provide data to be used as a basis for action,
- monitor implementation and effects of action,
- analyze the national and international environmental impact of various emission sources.
The environmental monitoring should also:
- be adapted to coming legislation regarding environmental quality standards
- focus on the evaluation of the national environmental quality objectives
The Swedish EPA is responsible for the coordination
Many different partners are involved in the environmental monitoring. The coordination by the Swedish EPA aims to ensure that the monitoring is done in a comparable way and that the results are accessible to the public. Data, summaries and analyses are published in reports from the Swedish EPA.
The coordination is also a way of creating an overview of the situation in the environment, to create a greater participation, increase efficiency and to reduce costs.
Several agencies, organizations and other groups monitor, or contribute in some way to the environmental monitoring:
- National agencies
- Regional agencies
- Local agencies
- Universities other higher education institutions
- Consulting companies
- Research institutes
- Associations
- Private individuals
Environmental monitoring is not restricted to collecting and analyzing data. It includes storing the data long-term, to perform quality assurance and to make the results available to the public. These tasks must be carried out in accordance with laws, regulations and policies on information security and data accessibility. For more information, see our pages on open data.
Ten program areas
Both the national and the regional environmental monitoring is organized in ten program areas, each with several sub-programs.
On a national level the Swedish EPA is responsible for eight program areas:
- Mountains
- Health-related environmental monitoring
- Agricultural land
- Landscape
- Air
- Toxic substances coordination
- Forests
- Wetlands
The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has the national responsibility for two program areas:
- Sea & coastal areas
- Freshwater
Development of the environmental monitoring program
In 2012 The Swedish EPA had a government assignment to, in collaboration with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, make a joint evaluation of the Swedish environmental monitoring and its results.
One conclusion was that a coordinated monitoring program is important for a holistic view on the state of the environment in Sweden. Another conclusion was that the current environmental monitoring program is not sufficient to deliver all the information that is required for an efficient management of the natural resources. Therefore, the program needs to be gradually developed according to the users' needs. Also, the data need more quality assurance, evaluation and to be made more accessible.