The relevance of environmental indicators in monitoring ecological progress in the Basque Country
In a global context marked by the climate emergency and the need for a transition to more sustainable development models, the systematic collection of environmental indicators has become an essential tool for assessing the state of the environment and informing decision-making.
Environmental indicators not only enable the measurement of progress towards a more sustainable Euskadi but also promote transparency, accountability, and citizen involvement in environmental protection. They therefore constitute a solid basis for designing effective public policies adapted to the environmental reality of the territory.
In Euskadi, publications are periodically produced to analyse and visualize the evolution of environmental indicators: reports that describe in detail the overall state of the environment, environmental outlook reports (which provide a more synthetic and visual overview), and environmental profiles (each edition offers a more in‑depth snapshot of the state of one of the environmental vectors).
The Basque Country’s Environmental Profiles are a series of publications produced to provide a thorough, accessible and clear picture of the state of the environment in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. Each edition focuses on a specific environmental vector – such as water, air, waste, soil, biodiversity and environmental health – thus going further into the most important aspects of each theme and how they evolve over time.
The profiles are a key tool for awareness-raising, decision-making and designing public policies, as they include significant indicators, technical analyses and regulatory context. Furthermore, they contribute to the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reflect the Basque Government’s commitment to sustainable development and the continuous improvement of the urban and natural environment.
The series includes the following profiles:
| Year | Topic | Documents (PDF) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Health and Environment | |
| 2022 | Biodiversity | |
| 2020 | Soils | |
| 2018 | Climate Change | |
| 2017 | Waste | |
| 2016 | Air | |
| 2015 | Water |
The Basque Country Economic Report, published annually by Ihobe, provides an analysis of the environment, supplemented every four years by a structural report. Its objective is twofold: to show the most recent developments in the main environmental vectors and to offer a quick overview of the most relevant trends in the territory.
This document focuses on an economic perspective, based on the immediate evolution of key indicators and their proximity to the environmental objectives set for the Basque Country. It seeks to provide a clear and up-to-date picture of the state of the environment, identifying progress, challenges and the degree of alignment with the established goals.
The report is coordinated by Ihobe and its indicators are mainly derived from official statistics from the Basque Government, Eustat and reliable European sources, incorporating the most recent data available.
Overall, the report provides a concise and up-to-date overview of environmental developments in the Basque Country and highlights the key advances, tensions and challenges that will influence the energy, environmental and industrial transition in the short and medium term.
