About environmental monitoring and assessment

How healthy is our environment? The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, has a unique mission in Swedish society. In addition to education and research, we conduct environmental monitoring and assessment, EMA.

Knowledge for sustainable life

The goal of environmental monitoring and assessment is to determine how healthy our environment is and how its health is progressing. Our environmental analysts and researchers systematically collect, analyse and process environmental data. Drawing on the latest research, we create sought-after decision support material that clarifies how the world’s natural resources can be used efficiently and sustainably. Together with authorities and others, we further efforts to achieve environmental and sustainability goals.

We investigate and analyse all types of natural, used and built environments. Some of our data series stretch back over 100 years. By openly sharing our data, knowledge and expertise, we create the conditions for well-founded decisions. This will ensure that we can continue to live and enjoy a rich environment in the future.

Several things make SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment unique

• We are Sweden’s biggest contributor to environmental monitoring and assessment, and cover all environments.
• We develop environmental analysis in a research-adjacent environment.
• We conduct environmental monitoring and assessment in close collaboration with authorities and other societal figures.
• We have a strong collective competence that consists of many of the country’s foremost experts in environmental monitoring and assessment.
• We contribute with expertise in Sweden’s international environmental partnerships.

Twelve environmental monitoring and assessment programmes

SLU's EMA meets society's need for decision support in twelve programmes, linked to Sweden's national environmental objectives, the global goals for sustainable development and other international environmental cooperation. All programmes have two coordinators each, with one exception. The coordinators act as contact points for our knowledge and expertise.

SLU's environmental data catalogue

The environmental data catalogue contains descriptions of openly available data from SLU's EMA. The catalogue makes it easier to find and download data from our many monitoring programmes and environmental assessment projects. New data descriptions are continuously added.