miljøtilstanden

Miljøtilstanden, or the state of the environment, refers to the overall condition of natural and built environments and their capacity to provide essential ecosystem services such as clean air and water, fertile soil, biodiversity, climate regulation, and recreational value. It is assessed to understand current conditions, detect trends, and identify risks to human health and well-being.

The assessment relies on environmental indicators and systematic monitoring. Data come from government agencies, research institutions, and civil society, coordinated to produce comparable time series. Common indicators include air quality (such as concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NOx), water quality (oxygen levels, nutrient and contaminant concentrations), biodiversity measures (species richness, population trends, threatened species), soil health (contamination, erosion, organic content), climate indicators (temperature, precipitation, greenhouse gas emissions), and indicators of land use, waste generation, and recycling. Results are usually presented in national environmental reports or integrated into environmental accounting frameworks to show progression over time and across regions.

The purpose of monitoring the environmental state is to inform policy-making, track progress toward targets, and assess compliance with national and international obligations. Such reporting supports environmental management, risk assessment, and public communication, helping to prioritize investments and regulatory actions aimed at protecting health and ecosystems.

Challenges include gaps in data coverage and quality, regional variation, attribution of observed changes to specific causes, and uncertainties in models and projections. Maintaining long-term, consistent data streams is essential to reliably track the evolution of the environment in a changing climate and society. See also state of the environment, environmental indicators, and sustainable development.