Indicators of sustainability of current and future use of the North Sea : review of the literature and proposal for a suite of indicators

This report contains 7 chapters. The first chapter deals with the identification of an operational definition of sustainable development. Alternative definitions of sustainable development are discussed, and an operational definition for sustainable use of the North Sea is proposed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 explores the conditions that good indicators in general, and indicators of sustainability in particular, must meet. Chapter 4 puts forward a proposal for a composite indicator, the Sustainability Index North Sea, based on five main objectives of North Sea policy, i.e. economic, environmental, spatial, social/cultural and administrative/international objectives. The proposal is developed into what is, in effect, a suite of indicators with emphasis on the economic and environmental dimensions. Chapters 5, 6 and 7, respectively, describe and illustrate in more detail: the indicator of economic development; the indicator of environmental integrity and the indicators of spatial efficiency, social and cultural values and administrative and institutional feasibility.