Indicators guidelines : to adopt an indicators-based approach to evaluate coastal sustainable development

Abstract

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.