Measuring sustainability at Europe’s periphery : a proposed set of sustainability indicators for European Islands

Abstract

Islands have been identified as areas of particular sensitivity in European environmental and development contexts, with these regions facing particular challenges due to their isolation and population dynamics, among other characteristics. Yet a survey of the literature and data sources on European islands has revealed a serious gap in knowledge about sustainability in these regions. In order to promote a better understanding of sustainable development issues in European islands, this paper proposes a set of sustainable development indicators. These indicators are developed on the basis of key sustainability issues identified through expert interviews, and informed by the relevant literature. The 26 experts interviewed were chosen on the basis of a set of 28 study islands, which were themselves identified using a set of criteria including: population size; habitation; absence of physical connection with the mainland; and, a balanced geographical distribution across the continent of Europe. Experts were questioned about sustainability issues on the relevant island, as well as about possible indicators to measure these problems. Once a list of common issues was identified, the sustainability indicators were chosen to reflect these issues, and computed. A GIS database was developed and spatial cluster analysis performed, indicating strong clustering in north and south Europe. A comparative analysis of the islands’ specific characteristics with the EU average was also performed. This dataset reveals that that island situations tend to be extreme, either significantly divergent from the EU average, or, in some cases, providing examples of both significantly higher and significantly lower values. It also indicates that there is a scarcity of comparable data on islands of the European continent, particularly for the lower administrative units and on environmental issues.