Insight into the North Sea : an analysis of ecological indicators for the North Sea and problems surrounding their use in policy and management

Describes a review of the development and use of ecological indicators for the North Sea in the Netherlands. Over the past few decades, various indicator sets were developed for the North Sea to measure tis ecological quality, to evaluate the effectiveness of the North Sea nature and water policies, and to assist in the prediction of ecological impacts of major infrastructural works and other proposed developments in the North Sea. These include the AMOEBE, Nature Target Types/Ecosystem Targets for the North Sea, GONZ and EcoQO's. The purpose of the study was to further diagnose the problems that surround the development and use of indicators in the North Sea and to propose recommendations to help solve a various kind of problems. The report concludes with a list of recommendations which focus on the need for better integration and communication during indicator development, the importance of a clear integrated vision for the North Sea, and the ugent need to lay down objectivities and target values in policy documents so that the indicators and their target values obtain a formal status, without which they are essentially redundant.