Indicators guidelines: to adopt an indicators-based approach to evaluate coastal sustainable development
Martí, X.; Lescrauwaet, A.-K.; Borg, M.; Valls, M. (Ed.) (2007). Indicators guidelines: to adopt an indicators-based approach to evaluate coastal sustainable development. Department of the Environment and Housing, Government of Catalonia: Barcelona. 97 + cd-rom pp.
The Indicators Guidelines (IG) report contains the most significant conclusions, results and products obtained from the development of the INTERREG IIIC South DEDUCE project during the period 2004-2007. The general goal of the project is to test the set of indicators proposed in 2003 by the EU Working Group on Indicators and Data at various scales and levels of governance. This covers European level, the member states, regional and local authorities. The calculation process developed by the DEDUCE partners, pursues two objectives: - To propose a common methodological framework;- To illustrate the relevance and usefulness of the indicators approach.The IG is intended to demonstrate, that the current coastal policy framework does not define a consistent and common approach to the measurement and evaluation of the levels of sustainability in EU coastal and maritime zones (Chapter 2). Despite this, some emerging and existing integrated policies, such as the EU Green Paper on Maritime Policy and the European Strategy for Sustainable Development do consider this approach. Only a few existing policies (e.g. EU Water Framework Directive) define the indicators and thresholds of acceptance in detail. The IG presents and explains the DEDUCE proposal for a methodological framework for indicators of sustainable development for coastal and maritime zones (Chapter 3). In so doing, it addresses this lack of common approach. This proposal is structured into three main components corresponding to the following three main questions: - How can we calculate indicators according to a common methodology? 45 measurements have a standard format that is suitable for all EU regions and countries;- What are the main problems and obstacles for the calculation process? 180 reports on different scales describe the difficulties, strengths and weaknesses in obtaining and handling data for a particular measurement;- How can we start integrating results and conclusions and what is the outcome of the calculation process? 25 fact sheets demonstrate the benefits of a comparative analysis between and across different geographical levels.These and other complementary products from the DEDUCE project are available on the website www.deduce.eu. The methodological development also includes a pragmatic view for the implementation of the INSPIRE Directive for the coastal and maritime zones using a common spatial data infrastructure. The difficulties and barriers to developing this infrastructure are analysed from responses to a questionnaire regarding existing GIS applications for the coast from the DEDUCE partners. Arguments in support of the usefulness of the methodological framework for indicators of sustainable development in coastal and maritime zones are discussed along the following lines (Chapter 4): - The usefulness of evaluating planning and management in the coastal and maritime zone;- The usefulness of integrating and co-ordinating analysis and research in the coastal and maritime zone;- The possibility of improving the visibility and perception of the coastal and maritime zone. The IG also includes examples of the practical application of this methodological framework by means of seven experiences from EU to local level. The seven fact sheets are structured according to the seven goals of the EU ICZM Recommendation (2002). They include the results of calculations, the integrated analysis and practical utilities of the indicators framework application (Chapter 5). The last chapter of the IG report (Chapter 6) summarises: - The final evaluation of the calculation process developed by DEDUCE partners;- The recommendations for improving the set of indicators proposed by the EU Working Group on Indicators and Data, based on 6 National Workshops and the Technical Conference held in Tarragona (March 2007);- The further work needed to complete the indicators framework approach in order to build a consistent maritime information system.
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