Summary
The concept of sustainable development is a political rather than a scientific concept. It is a balance between the environment and human uses. If policy-makers want to make rational choices concerning sustainable development, they have to define this concept and formulate verifiable ecological objectives, and moreover they will need to possess adequate economic and ecological information. The need for verifiable ecological objectives and adequate ecological information gave rise to the AMOEBA approach. This chapter reflects on the concept of sustainable development and gives a short description of the AMOEBA approach. Finally, the possibilities of the AMOEBA approach for finding quantitative indicators for sustainable development are evaluated.
A number of figures in this contribution will be published in Marine Pollution Bulletin. Pergamon Press has kindly granted permission to reprint them here.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Brink, B.J.E. ten (1989).Systematically in search of sustainable development.Memorandum GWWS 89.006, Tidal Waters Division, The Hague.
Brink, B.J.E. ten, Hosper, S.H., Colijn, F. (1991). A quantitative method for description and assessment of ecosystems: The AMOEBA approach. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas, 1990, Kobe, Japan. In press. Marine Pollution Bulletin.
Ministry of Transport and Public Works (1990). Ecological impact assessment on coastal waters. Tidal Waters Division. Note GWWS 90.009. The Hague (in Dutch).
Ministry of Transport and Public Works (1989). Third National policy document on water management. A time for action. The Hague.
World Commission on Environment and Development, Commission Brundtland (1988).Our Common Future. Univ. Press. Oxford.
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
ten Brink, B. (1991). The AMOEBA approach as a useful tool for establishing sustainable development?. In: Kuik, O., Verbruggen, H. (eds) In Search of Indicators of Sustainable Development. Environment & Management, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3246-6_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3246-6_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5431-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3246-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive