Indicators of Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Analysis

The World Resources Institute (WRI) conducted a scoping exercise to develop a list of indicators to measure the environmental sustainability of agriculture, defined as minimizing its environmental impacts. The process involved analyzing existing datasets, selecting five thematic areas (water, climate change, land conversion, soil health, and pollution), and mapping indicators across a three-stage causal chain: public policy, farmer practice, and biophysical performance. Candidate indicators were evaluated against seven screening criteria, including data availability, accuracy, and consistency, to produce a 'short list'. The paper argues that increasing demand for these indicators from governments and the private sector is necessary to drive the supply of required data, which could be supported by remote sensing and crowd-sourcing.

• The WRI identified five primary thematic areas essential for measuring environmental sustainability in agriculture: water, climate change, land conversion, soil health, and pollution.
• The scoping exercise categorized indicators based on a three-stage 'causal chain' of action consisting of public policy, farmer practice, and biophysical performance.
• Candidate indicators were filtered from a 'long list' to a 'short list' using seven specific screening criteria: data availability, accuracy, consistency of gathering, frequency, proximity to reality, relevancy, and the ability to differentiate between countries.
• The document asserts that the supply of necessary data will be driven by increased demand from civil society, the private sector, development agencies, and governments, with remote sensing and crowd-sourcing offering potential technical support.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Indicators of Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Analysis. https://www.wri.org/research/indicators-sustainable-agriculture-scoping-analysis

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Indicators of Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Analysis. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/indicators-sustainable-agriculture-scoping-analysis.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Indicators of Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Analysis |url=https://www.wri.org/research/indicators-sustainable-agriculture-scoping-analysis |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendindicators, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Indicators of Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Analysis}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/indicators-sustainable-agriculture-scoping-analysis}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }