Sustainability Indicators: Providing Policy Indications or Just Adding Informative Chaos?

Sustainability indicators are currently employed by various organizations. This article focuses on the processes where the interpretation over data is created, and thereby the relevant policy messages articulated. The case study under consideration is a sustainability report by the Finnish Ministry...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAgroecology and sustainable food systems Vol. 36; no. 1; p. 127
Main Authors Yli-Viikari, Anja, Risku-Norja, Helmi, Aakkula, Jyrki
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.01.2012
Subjects
Agricultural policy
Forestry
Objectives
Sustainable development
Finland
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Summary:Sustainability indicators are currently employed by various organizations. This article focuses on the processes where the interpretation over data is created, and thereby the relevant policy messages articulated. The case study under consideration is a sustainability report by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. This report aims at providing key information on assessing the sustainability of natural resource management. An analytical framework is outlined to capture current practices in interpreting indicators, and the efficiency of information is examined by considering the reformulation of strategic goals. The impact of new information was found to be modest. In general, few strategic changes were introduced, and the changes that had been implemented were only loosely connected to the information of the sustainability report. Restrictions of indicators as a tool are outlined and the need for more flexible ways of using information at policy forums is pointed out. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:2168-3565
2168-3573