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.
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References
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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.
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World Commission on Environment and Development, Commission Brundtland (1988).Our Common Future. Univ. Press. Oxford.
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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
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3246-6_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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