by Hilmar Westholm, Michael Greif and Philip Rigley

The term "sustainable development" has become a fashionable phrase in the social sciences. In order to concretise this abstract formula, a set of indicators was developed by students in a research-based learning project under the guidance of a teacher for a municipality as part of its "Local Agenda 21", with which a sustainable development direction can be read for the social, development policy, economic and ecological areas of society.

The term "sustainable development" has become a hackneyed phrase among social scientists. To put this abstract term in a concrete form, a project was launched in which students - under the guidance of a lecturer - developed a set of indicators of "sustainable development" for a rural community participating in the Local Agenda 21 programme. The project was organised as a regular seminar and was aimed at determining the future direction in the areas of "social affairs", "third-world-policy", "economy" and "environment".

Sustainable development" is intended to describe a social process in which economic, social and ecological aspects are interlinked. At the same time, dependencies between production and consumption patterns in the highly developed industrialised countries and poverty, hunger and underdevelopment in the countries of the South are to be highlighted and changes called for. Development is sustainable if the needs of the present are satisfied without the risk of future generations not being able to satisfy their own needs. This formula was put into concrete terms at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, where, among other things, "Agenda 21" was adopted, a programme of action for the world community of states for the coming century. The document devotes a great deal of space to the actors who are to realise this goal, as it is not assumed that it can be decreed "from above", as it were. In addition to women, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and entrepreneurs, local authorities are also mentioned because, as the political and administrative level closest to the citizens, they play a decisive role in informing, raising awareness and mobilising the public. A "Local Agenda 21" is to be developed at municipal level, which will initiate "consultation processes" with the participation of many citizens and various interest groups in order to draw up a mission statement and goals for future development, if possible by consensus, from which concrete action steps can be derived.The term "sustainability" has so far been interpreted differently by the various actors and therefore also needs to be concretised within the framework of "Local Agenda 21". Rules were developed for the ecological corner of the "economy-social-ecology" triangle, which were formulated as follows by the Bundestag Senate Commission "Protection of Man and the Environment" in its final report in 1998:

The rate at which renewable resources are depleted should not exceed their rate of regeneration. Non-renewable resources should only be used to the extent that a physically and functionally equivalent substitute is created in the form of renewable resources or increased productivity of both renewable and non-renewable resources. Substances released into the environment should be guided by the carrying capacity of the environmental media. The timescale of anthropogenic interventions in the environment must be in a balanced proportion to the timescale of the natural processes relevant to the environment’s capacity to respond. Unacceptable risks to human health arising from anthropogenic impacts must be avoided.

It remains unclear in both political and scientific discourse what sustainability means in terms of the ‘social’ and ‘economic’ dimensions. Examples of socio-cultural objectives cited include: greater (political) participation, social mobility, social cohesion, cultural identity, equal educational opportunities and new forms of work. Growth (however defined), distributive justice and efficiency are thus identified as the economic objectives of sustainability. The link to development policy, which was still a key feature at the Rio Conference, now appears in many national and local documents merely as a footnote.

Presenting complex interrelationships in a simplified manner

In a long-term process such as Agenda 21, opportunities must be created to review the measures implemented to assess whether the intended objectives can be achieved. As part of our project-based studies, we undertook a research project to investigate how a local authority can monitor whether it is developing in a sustainable and future-proof manner. To this end, a set of sustainability indicators was developed using a rural municipality (Ganderkesee, Oldenburg district, population 30,000) as a case study.

An indicator is intended to summarise information in a targeted manner with the aim of presenting complex interrelationships in a simplified and precise way. When conducting the selection of suitable indicators, the focus should be on their usefulness for those who will subsequently work with them. Closely linked to this are the requirements regarding measurability, the cost of measurement and comprehensibility, as each user group has different needs. Other important criteria include scientific rigour, as well as political relevance and the ability to raise awareness. The issue of discriminatory power is also crucial: the value of an indicator must be unambiguously assignable to the ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ range of the system under consideration. These requirements make it clear that sustainable development cannot be fully described using indicators alone: qualitative factors, for example, can hardly be taken into account – or not at all – due to the required measurability and the need to keep measurement costs low.

Each indicator in the set of indicators developed is structured according to a specific scheme: it begins with a description in which the indicator is first explained and its relevance to sustainability clarified; the subsequent definition sets out the measurement principles and sources. This data basis is described in detail in the subsequent interpretation; discernible developments are summarised as trend statements and explained as far as possible. In the evaluation that follows, the data found is assessed from a sustainability perspective. Finally, the interrelationships are highlighted. These are primarily interdependencies with other indicators, but also general connections. As a ‘conclusion’, the sustainability trend can be derived from the indicator (provided the relevant data is available) – in other words, a statement as to whether the indicator’s development is sustainable or unsustainable.

A set of indicators developed according to these criteria fulfils various functions and tasks. In addition to its central analytical function, its communicative function is particularly noteworthy: the Agenda process relies on broad public involvement. The basis for the necessary broad and constructive discourse is access to information presented in an understandable way, which can be ensured with the help of such a set of indicators. Furthermore, undesirable trends should be identified at an early stage (warning function) and opportunities for comparison with other local authorities should be facilitated (coordination function).

The first sustainability indicators at local authority level were developed in the early 1990s. A notable example is the city of Seattle (USA), where the organisation ‘Sustainable Seattle’ had been operating since 1990, bringing together representatives from politics, business, environmental groups and local government. Following a wide-ranging consultation process, it published its first set of indicators in 1993. The set, comprising around 50 indicators, has since been revised and updated twice (in 1995 and 1998).

In the UK, a national authority compiled a list of 200 indicators across 13 thematic areas, from which the participating local authorities can select those relevant to them.

In Germany, for example, a scientifically sound system was developed in Heidelberg that covers the areas of ecology, economy and social affairs, whilst also enabling a comparison between the city and its surrounding area.

Identifying indicators with citizens

Since the summer semester of 1997, our research project, as part of the project-based degree programme, has been focusing on the implementation of Agenda 21 at local level. In consultation with local councillors, the research was to be based on information gathered through guided interviews on the one hand and workshops with interested members of the public on the other. The concept, timetable and objectives were put forward for public discussion in the local community before the study began.

In the next step, 16 in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals representing different sectors of society, with the aim of identifying the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of the local authority, as well as both visionary and concrete objectives regarding its potential future development. The development objectives derived from the interviews could be categorised into five overarching areas:

Culture, Education & Social Affairs Village Community Environment Economy Politics & Administration

The workshop groups planned to supplement the catalogue of objectives were cancelled due to a lack of participation, meaning that the approach to developing the set of indicators had to be revised. The results from the interviews now formed the basis for developing the indicators, alongside existing examples from other local authorities. The present set contains some indicators that are specifically tailored to this municipality; however, the majority of the indicators are also transferable to other local authorities. These must then, of course, be adapted to the specific circumstances.

The 36 indicators are categorised according to the core areas of sustainable development (see the overview of indicators): ecology, economy, social affairs and society, and development policy. Many indicators are cross-cutting in nature – for example, the ‘transport’ thematic area relates to social issues as well as to the economy and the environment, and the relevant indicators can therefore be found in all three areas. This results in a high degree of interconnection between the indicators. They are closely linked in that almost every indicator has a direct or indirect impact on one or more others. Considering individual indicators in isolation is therefore insufficient; the set of indicators is only coherent and meaningful when viewed as a whole. In this sense, it reflects a fundamental principle of sustainable development – the recognition that only a cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary perspective can adequately address the complexity of societal problems. Within the set of indicators, conflicting objectives relating to sustainable local development become apparent. For example, it becomes apparent that environmental sustainability targets relating to the management of non-renewable resources may conflict not only with the economic objectives of expanding commercial development. Social demands for the preservation of the village community through the creation of housing opportunities for young residents also come into serious conflict with environmental objectives. This potential for conflict makes it clear that the development of indicators should be accompanied by a broad consultation and discussion process on the community’s development goals. Here, value judgements must be made, priorities set and, in doing so, the path towards a sustainable community outlined.

A starting point for discussion

The set of indicators is designed to stimulate thought and raise the question of what sustainable development might look like for this community. The indicators are largely based on suggestions and objectives from the community itself; nevertheless, a broad participatory basis is lacking. Establishing such a basis must be the aim of any further work with the set of indicators. On the one hand, it seems necessary to initiate as broad a public discussion as possible on the community’s development goals and mission statements. Within this framework, conflicting objectives should be thoroughly discussed and the direction of the community’s future development formulated. Secondly, it is advisable to set up a working group for the concrete further development and adaptation of the set of indicators, comprising various local stakeholders (associations, politicians, the administration, Agenda Plenary) and which translates the developed development goals into indicators. These should then be updated regularly with public participation in order to ensure the process is sustained and to raise awareness within the community regarding the sustainable shaping of its own affairs.<

Ultimately, the set of indicators aims to sharpen our focus on the future – it is not about passing judgement on whether the municipality is sustainable or unsustainable today. As part of a highly developed industrial society, a municipality such as Ganderkesee also faces far-reaching challenges and has a long way to go. Indicators can help set us on this path – provided they become an integral part of the political debate.

The authors

Dr Hilmar Westholm, a lecturer at the Institute of Political Science II within the Department of Social Sciences, studied social sciences and political science in Berlin and Oldenburg; from 1987 to 1994, he coordinated and taught on the continuing education programme in Ecology/Environmental Sciences, obtained his PhD in Oldenburg in 1995 in the field of environmental education and environmental policy, and subsequently taught and conducted research in Hamburg. He currently teaches the elective module “Environmental Policy and Planning”, focusing on European and international environmental policy as well as participatory research. - Michael Greif and Philip Rigley are studying for a Diplom in Social Sciences in Oldenburg, specialising in environmental policy and planning. - Other students on the course “Implementation of Agenda 21 at local level” also contributed to the development of the set of indicators.