Communicating Environmental Indicators. G. Gibson, C. Chess, and B. Johnson; Center for Environmental Communication and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Environmental indicators are measures that represent trends in significant aspects of environmental quality. New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has developed more than 130 indicators to represent conditions of the environment. This presentation reviews results of qualitative research testing representations of environmental indicators with stakeholders and the public. In Phase I, indicator representations were tested with stakeholders (environmentalists, legislative staff and journalists) in semi-structured interviews. Results suggest that gaps in information often bred distrust and were sometimes seen as intentional. Stakeholders made recommendations for design and presentation of indicators that were integrated and tested in Phase II, including simplification of text and graphics, inclusion of key information, and use of graphics and text to tell a story relating to human health. In Phase II, the Center for Environmental Communication (CEC) modified the graphics and text of water quality indicators that were tested with 20 members of the general public and 6 previously interviewed stakeholders. Results suggest that the public may want more information from indicators than they are intended to provide, such as their direct relevance to recreation or public health. Even with carefully designed messages, the public often took away messages unintended by indicator designers. Overall research results provide practical guidance on improving graphical and textual presentation of data, and modify recent findings in recent research on sustainability indicators.
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