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2.Use of indicators
in Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management
Box 2-1 Components of the project cycle
Inputs — What do we need?
Adequacy of resources in relation to management objectives, based primarily
on measures of staff, funds, equipment and facilities;
Process — How do we go about it?
Adequacy of management processes and systems in relation to management
objectives, related to issues such as day-to-day maintenance or adequacy of
approaches to public participation;
Outputs — What did we do and what products and services were produced?
Measures of the volume of work output (e.g., number of meetings held, permits
issued, surveys completed and of construction projects completed); actual
versus planned work programmes; actual versus planned expenditures;
Outcomes — What did we achieve?
For example, increase in abundance of key species and communities; habitat
change; improvements in environmental quality; reduced use conflicts; improvements
in community well-being (increase in income, decrease in unemployment,
etc.
cators provide a useful tool to identify, prioritize and quantify objectives, monitor
their achievement, evaluate the programme and ultimately adjust it.
The role of indicators in ICOM
Sets of different indicators can be analysed in relation to the elements of input,
process, output and outcomes in the project cycle (Box 2-1). An example of
this approach is provided in Chapter 6.
Indicators should relate to the specific management issues that triggered
the initiation of an ICOM process, such as multiple user conflicts, ecological
degradation, community interest, or a commitment to improve the management
of a local marine area. A structured approach to ICOM calls for indicators
that clearly relate to the management objectives set during the planning
phase.
The uses of indicators in ICOM include:
• Monitoring key compositional, structural and functional characteristics of
marine ecosystems against desired conditions;
• Tracking progress and effectiveness of measures and actions (e.g., marine
environmental quality objectives or the creation of marine protected areas);
• Providing a focal point to summarize consistent information for sub-national,
national and international reporting, as well as across reporting scales
and jurisdictions;
• Monitoring the long-term cumulative impacts of human actions on the
coastal and marine environment, on ecosystem status and health, as well as
of trends in the major drivers and pressures;
• Guiding adaptive management; and
• Tracking progress in the implementation of an ICOM plan, including its efficiency,
effectiveness and adaptability.
ICOM indicators
ICOM indicators are of three types, reflecting the three elements of ICOM:
• Governance indicators, which measure the performance of programme
components (e.g., status of ICOM planning and implementation), as well
as the progress and quality of interventions and of the ICOM governance
process itself;
• Ecological indicators, which reflect trends in the state of the environment.
They are descriptive in nature if they describe the state of the environment
in relation to a particular issue (e.g., eutrophication, loss of biodiversity or
over-fishing). They become performance indicators if they compare actual
conditions with targeted ecological conditions;
• Socioeconomic indicators, which reflect the state of the human component
of coastal and marine ecosystems (e.g., economic activity) and are an essential
element in the development of ICOM plans. They help measure the extent to
which ICOM is successful in managing human pressures in a way that results
not only in an improved natural environment, but also in improved quality of
life in coastal areas, as well as in sustainable socioeconomic benefits.
These three categories include 15 Governance indicators, 9 ecological indicators
and 13 socioeconomic indicators. Detailed indicator schedules are given in Annexes
I, III, and IV.
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