Bedrich Moldan
Suzanne Billharz
After many years of preparation, nations of the world gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the Earth Summit in June 1992. The adoption of Agenda 21 made sustainable development a universally accepted goal. In order to put the concept of sustainability into practice and to keep track of the implementation of Agenda 21 (the 'blueprint' for sustainable development) this conference created the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). Its main mandate is to monitor the progress that has been made on the way toward a sustainable future.
One of the needs voiced at the first meeting of the CSD, also a common theme among many delegations' statements, was for a set of standards for measuring progress toward sustainability. A measuring stick is required: units by which to distinguish relativity and proximity. This measuring stick should be broad enough to encompass economic, social, environmental, cultural, institutional and other realms of human activity which affect sustainable development. It must also be comprehensive enough to take into account: stresses on economies, ecosystems, and social fabrics; impacts of stresses on the present state of complex systems; and responses to these stresses. One central challenge is to understand the interplay between the complexities of human activity as they relate to sustainable development. The kind and quality of data which we are able to gather is a key factor in our ability to use this measuring stick effectively.
The use of indicators is far-reaching, from the national policy-maker whose decisions affect long-term development and production and consumption patterns on a large scale, to the individual wishing to assess sustainability of a household. Within various contexts, indicators are needed to clearly show whether we are on the right track and in what direction we are headed. In the specific context of the CSD, indicators are needed that can be used in all countries to enable sharing of information, in order to build a common basis for assessing progress toward sustainability.
Existing indicators do not adequately serve this purpose, and thus indicators of sustainable development (ISDs) are needed. This is endorsed in Chapter 40 on information in Agenda 21. Non-governmental organizations are called upon to develop ISDs in order to identify indicators, to cooperate with UN bodies in using a suitable set of ISDs, and to contribute to harmonizing the development of indicators at all levels. In 1993, the decision of the first CSD session (CSD 1) called for the development of a suitable set of ISDs, for possible integration into its national reporting and analytical processes.
Responding to the strong demand and to the CSD decision, a proposal to launch a SCOPE project was discussed at the UNEP/UNSTAT Consultative Expert Group Meeting on Sustainable Development Indicators (Geneva 1993), chaired by Bedrich Moldan of Charles University, Prague. The proposal received wide support from the 20 organizations and agencies represented.
In February 1994, the SCOPE Executive Committee accepted a proposal by the Czech National Council of SCOPE for a new project, 'Indicators of Sustainable Development'. The Executive Committee was aware of the need to develop sustainability indicators and recognized that there was a role for the scientific community. The project's aim was to bring together specialists in the scientific and academic communities at the cutting edge of work on ISDs, to stimulate further research to resolve outstanding problems, and to synthesize results from various research groups for use by policy makers and other users.
From the beginning, the project was conceived not as a mere academic exercise, but to operate in close connection with the needs of the international community as outlined by the CSD delegates. The project was intended to support the CSD process in a way that would be acceptable to member countries. This initiative to advance ISDs played an important role, particularly in that the CSD called for ISDs, but it did not have a mechanism to create them.
SCOPE created a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), consisting of leading scientists and experts from various organizations serving in their personal capacities:
Dr. Albert Adriaanse (Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and the
Environment, The Netherlands)
Dr. Peter Bartelmus (UN DESIPA -UNSTAT, USA)
Dr. Arthur Dahl (UN Environment Programme, Switzerland)
Dr. Allen Hammond (World Resources Institute, USA)
Dr. Donella Meadows (Dartmouth College, USA)
Dr. Bedrich Moldan, Chair (Charles University, Czech Republic)
Dr. Kirit Parikh (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, India)
Dr. Manuel Winograd (CIAT, Colombia)
Two more SAC members were added during the course of the project: Dr. Aromar Revi (Taru, India) and Dr. Eberhard Seifert (Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, Germany).
Despite the requests of Agenda 21 and CSD I that work on ISDs proceed quickly, the international process nearly came to a halt at CSD II in 1994. Although some delegations (Czech Republic, Finland) proposed to move the process forward quickly, it was not accepted by other delegations, particularly by the representatives of some of the larger countries of the G-77. This hesitation was partly due to concerns surrounding indicators and their use, and the consequences of calls for indicators that were made mainly by nations of the North.
SCOPE planned to focus on the scientific aspects of the issue. The political sensitivity surrounding indicators manifest at CSD II, however, altered the course of the project. It became clear that political support needed to be stronger if work on ISDs was to progress in the CSD context and beyond. Moreover, it was necessary if indicators were to be eventually accepted and used at the United Nations level. In order to address the political concerns about ISDs, SCOPE scientists teamed up with the representatives from Belgium and Costa Rica. With UNEP and the UN Division for Sustainable Development, Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), they organized an international workshop, 'Indicators of Sustainable Development for Decision Making' (Ghent, 9-11 January 1995). Apart from a few experts, the invited participants included government representatives from countries around the world and members of inter-governmental organizations.
At the Ghent workshop an important breakthrough was made in the political dialogue about indicators. A fruitful exchange emerged between diplomats and politicians from both developed and developing countries on one side, and scientists on the other. The workshop concluded with a call for increased global efforts to develop ISDs and a mandate for the scientific community to perform a specific role within this process. The conclusions of the meeting state (Report of the Workshop, Ghent 1995):
The usefulness of Indicators of Sustainable Development (ISDs) as mentioned in Agenda 21 has been confirmed by the Workshop. The potential uses of ISDs include alerting decision-makers to priority issues, guiding policy formulation, simplifying and improving communication, and fostering a common understanding of key trends with a view to initiating necessary national action. The primary focus and purpose of ISDs as discussed in this Workshop is to facilitate decision-making at the national level. They should be considered as useful tools that countries can decide to use (or not) as sources of information on progress towards their own targets for sustainable development.
Following the Ghent workshop, the Government of Belgium presented the work-shop report at CSD III in 1995. This time the CSD fully embraced the idea of quickly developing an appropriate set of ISDs. The proponents of indicators won a sweeping victory. As a result of the CSD decision, a detailed Programme of Work on Indicators of Sustainable Development was accepted that detailed a course for future international work over several years. The SCOPE work was mentioned throughout the decision document, and the role of the scientific community was defined and emphasized. SCOPE was given a specific mandate by the CSD within the work programme to undertake and coordinate the development of highly aggregated indicators, to work on inter-linkages, and to develop other indicators in areas for which no suitable indicators yet exist (CSD Work Programme on Indicators of Sustainable Development, para. 23-25).
Paragraph 24 states:
With regard to further work on interlinkages, the scientific community is invited to undertake further work on identifying and assessing the linkages among the economic, social, institutional and environmental elements of sustainable development. SCOPE could facilitate the coordination of these efforts.
The positive signal given by the CSD was quickly acknowledged and acted upon by intergovernmental bodies, governments, international research institutes, NGOs, sectoral groups, academic institutions, and others. Many launched new efforts and intensified or expanded existing work on ISDs. Luxem and Bryld present the development of ISDs by the CSD (see Introductory Box).
With strong political support for indicators, SCOPE turned its focus to its original mandate, confirmed by the Ghent conclusions:
Participants at the Workshop recognized that the indicators proposed so far are not yet adequate measures of long-term sustainability. The scientific community, including the SCOPE project on ISDs, should focus [its] efforts on improved indicators of sustainability which include the integration of and linkages among economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions of sustainability, and the approaches to aggregation of indicators into policy relevant indices. (Report of the Workshop of Ghent, Belgium, 1995)
In order to stimulate work and push forward the process within the scientific community, and to begin synthesizing the multifarious approaches to sustainable development indicators, SCOPE organized a large international workshop. This time the project joined with the Government of Germany, which hosted the event. The scientific and expert communities were brought together to discuss the state of the art within the field of ISDs, the newest results, and the directions and priorities for future work, in order to define a research agenda.
The workshop was organized with the support of the German government, UNEP, the Commission of the European Communities (DG XII), The Foundation for a Civil Society, the International Council of Scientific Unions, Charles University (Prague), and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. The workshop was held in Wuppertal, Germany on November 15-17,1995.
At the meeting, specialists presented a rich variety of approaches, philosophies and research results from diverse parts of the world. They discussed a broad spectrum of national conditions relating to geography, policy, economy, environment, society, institutions and culture. The workshop produced 'Elements of a Research Agenda,' a concise listing of key areas identified by the participants as research needs and a stimulus for new work on indicators (see Box 5A). The discussion, conclusions, and research agenda are published in the workshop report, Scientific Workshop on Indicators of Sustainable Development: Report. The German and Italian delegations on behalf of the European Union presented the results of the workshop to CSD IV (New York, April 1996).
This volume is the culmination of the work of SCOPE scientists over several years. It offers a rich diversity of perspectives and approaches described by more than 50 contributors from many different countries and cultures, working in a wide range of fields and organizations at all levels. It is an overview and the beginning of a synthesis of the most up-to-date work in this area, offering directions for future work and research.
This book has five major sections. Chapter 1 covers methodological issues and summarizes the technical aspects of the development and use of indicators. Chapter 2 is devoted to approaches that attempt to construct a complete picture or model of sustainable development, using a comprehensive set of indicators, highly aggregated indices, or other specific methods. Chapter 3, 'Pieces of a Greater Picture', is the most extensive section of the book. It surveys many kinds of indicators that are built on the basis of certain perspectives, such as environment, economy or other dimensions of sustainable development. It also includes sectoral approaches such as health, industry, forestry or agriculture, and other specific points of view. Chapter 4 provides country reports that describe the current situation and the use of indicators in a variety of countries. Chapter 5 defines the most important research needs and draws conclusions from the current body of work.
The first aim of this volume is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the idea of sustainability. Principle 1 of the Bellagio Principles (see Box 1A) states, 'Assessment of progress toward sustainable development should be guided by a clear vision of sustainable development and goals that define that vision.' The paradox we face is that we aim to measure sustainability, yet we cannot precisely define it. There are many definitions of sustainable development, and no consensus on a single definition, as outlined in the Introduction to Chapter 2. However, there appears to be sufficient understanding and agreement to warrant developing indicators. Moreover, the very process of developing indicators contributes to the creation of a better definition of sustainable development. These processes are parallel and complementary: working on indicators helps us to see the important processes and linkages among aspects of sustainable development at many levels and to appreciate fully the complex interactions among its different dimensions.
The second aim is to make the concept of sustainable development more operational. The most important goal of all work on indicators is to help bridge the gaps between the concepts and day-to-day decision-making. In contrast to the detailed data and other quantitative information which are combined and aggregated into indicators, the crucially important feature of indicators, as a whole, is their relevance to policy and decision-making. Chapter 1 emphasizes this aspect, but it is also a key theme throughout the volume.
We hope that this volume makes a significant contribution to the long line of SCOPE achievements since 1969. We intend to present it to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session in June 1997, which is devoted to the evaluation and assessment of progress made on the road to sustainable development since the Earth Summit. This book represents a contribution by the scientific community to the formidable task before us: the transformation towards a sustainable future.