CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Opschoor and Reijnders (1991) propose a simple structure for the devel opment of physical indicators of sustainable development. It begins wi th the development of two types of environmental indicators: one descr ibing the pressure being placed on the environment, and one describing the effects of this pressure. The sustainability indicator then measu res the distance between current or predicted conditions, as described in these simple 'state' indicators, and a reference condition. The re ference condition is equated to sustainability. Specification of this reference requires the making of explicit choices as to the types of e nvironmental change. It implies setting standards which make the crite ria for sustainability explicit. The power of this simple construct is demonstrated using three examples. The first Sustainability indicator comprises a pressure indicator describing acid deposition in the Neth erlands and a reference condition based on ecosystem sensitivity to th is deposition. The second comprises an effect indicator describing spe cies composition in the Dutch North Sea and a reference condition base d on past species composition before this ecosystem was adversely affe cted by pollution, overfishing, etc. The third indicator deals with ca dmium accumulation in Dutch soil. It identifies two criteria for susta inability, one constraining additions of cadmium to soil and one speci fying soil quality. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd