Developing indicators for sustainable and performance-based management
Worldwide there is a trend towards an increased use of indicators to monitor development and track progress. This is evident at all levels and is reflected in the proliferation of indicator reports in recent years. Indicators quantify and simplify phenomena, and help us understand and make sense of complex realities. Within natural resource management their greatest strength is in the way they can help us assess resource status and monitor performance effectiveness. To be most meaningful, a monitoring programme should provide insights into cause-and-effect relationships between environmental or socio-economic stressors and the anticipated ecosystem responses and subsequent social and economic outcomes.
As the linked resources on this page highlight reviewers of effective indicator reporting processes highlight the importance of using a conceptual framework and models to guide the development of a set of indicators. These frameworks and models provide a formal way of thinking about a topic area and help us build a coherent set of indicators for any particular system. They help to ensure the selection of indicators is relevant and balanced, and illustrate the complicated links between indicators. They also provide a useful device for organising and reporting on indicators in a structured and meaningful way. The absence of a framework can result in the generation of an eclectic mix of indicators, with no clear rationale for their selection.
- Effective indicators for freshwater management: attributes and frameworks for development Indicators quantify and simplify phenomena, and help us understand and make sense of complex realities. However, their greatest strength is in aiding management. To be useful, indicators must be embedded in a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system that is seen as an integral component of a the wider management and decision making system. This 2012 report by Will Allen, Andrew Fenemor and David Wood outlines key steps for indicator-based reporting. These include include involving the right people, and clarifying with them the purpose, scope and scale of the management system under consideration. Developing a conceptual framework and models is crucial to to both aid shared understanding and to identify what needs to be evaluated. Within natural resource mangement these tend to either be programme-outcome-based or driver/pressure-based. Irrespective of which framework is chosen the report notes that it will still be important to provide three sets of supporting information to underpin the utility and transparency of the subsequent models: i) scoping and planning; ii) well-documented underpinning assumptions; and iii) internal and external factors that influence outcomes. Attention is also paid to indicator chanracteristics, and the capacities and systems required to support collaborative adaptive management.
- A conceptual framework for selecting environmental indicator sets In recent years, environmental indicators have become a vital component of environmental impact assessments and 'state of the environment' reporting. This has increased the influence of environmental indicators on environmental management and policy making at all scales of decision making. However, as David Niemeijer and Rudolf Groot point out in this 2008 paper the scientific basis of the selection process of the indicators used in environmental reporting can be signicantly improved. In many studies no formal selection criteria are mentioned and when selection criteria are used they are typically applied to indicators individually. Often, no formal criteria are applied regarding an indicator's analytical utility within the total constellation of a selected set of indicators. As a result, the indicator selection process is subject to more or less arbitrary decisions, and reports dealing with a similar subject matter or similar geographical entities may use widely different indicators and consequently paint different pictures of the environment. In this paper, 