those who make use of this indicator must be aware that a significant proportion of all the source data are just estimates. Another point that should be taken into consideration is that the value of TMR is not a direct representation of the impact on environmental destruction. There are initiatives underway to minimize environmental burdens by planting trees in order to restore the modified environment after resource extraction.

Securing a stable supply of metallic resources from overseas is vital for Japan. However, overseas mines are experiencing degradation in ore grades and the deepening of ore deposits, and these trends can have an impact on TMR values. To address such changes, Japan should continue collecting and accumulating data at the global level.

For resource productivity purposes, the government has decided to keep track of not only nationwide indicators but also industry-specific resource productivity. This focuses on resource-intensive goods and services in order to obtain estimates for each industry sector, and allows a more accurate analysis of the factors affecting change. In the future, it is hoped that industry-specific resource productivity will be measured in many countries so that international comparisons can be made of the effectiveness of resource use.

The Second Fundamental Plan also identified various issues that need to be examined further.

One of these issues is the development of material flow indicators that allow international comparisons to be made so that Japanese data can be compared with those of other developed countries and other Asian countries. This requires the establishment of common calculation methods and the construction of relevant databases. With this in mind, Japan will make a proactive contribution to the international accumulation of knowledge. In particular, Japan will assist Asian countries in collecting and organizing statistics on resource productivity, the cyclical use rate, and the final disposal amount (Figure4-1-15).

[An example of resource extraction with a high impact on the environment]

Source: Masatsugu Taniguchi, United Nations University

Figure 4-1-15 Resource productivity in Asian countries (2004)

$ ^{*} $ 1 Natural resource input does not include nonmetallic minerals. $ ^{*} $ 2 GDP data are real GDP figures based on purchasing power parity in 2000, cited from the “World Development Indicator” of the World Bank Source: Created by the Ministry of the Environment, mainly based on UN statistics

On the other hand, there is also a concept called environmental efficiency, which measures the relative efficiency between environmental burdens and the added value of goods and services by using the corporate or product value instead of GDP, and by using environmental burdens instead of resource consumption, such as natural resources input. Using this concept, the government will be able to collect and analyze the information needed for the quantitative assessment and evaluation of environmental burdens associated with resource extraction and the use of resources and products, and will create inventories relevant to the calculation of these environmental burdens. In particular, the government will seriously consider promoting joint research projects between Japanese research institutes and between Japanese and foreign research institutes or international organizations.

In the case of conversion factors that involve statistical imperfections or a lack of international consensus, the government will continue to contribute to discussions in the OECD and the UNEP directed towards the definition of internationally shared conversion factors and will make good use of the results.

[An example of resource extraction followed by afforestation]