Theoretical Reasoning of the Use of Indicators and Indices for Sustainable Development Assessment

The problem of the use of indicators and indexes for the assessment of sustainable development is analyzed in the work. As the objectives, for this the concept of sustainability indicators and indices is analyzed. Then the analysis of the concept of sustainable development is given. After this the analysis of the methodological principles of sustainability indicators and indices development is provided. The methods of systematic scientific literature analysis, general and logical analysis, comparison and generalization were used in the article. Sustainability assessment currently arises as comprehensive, integrated, and provident decision-making approach. Ignorance of sustainability turns our future into more risky one. Thus sustainability indicators and indices, which have to measure features and processes of human and environmental systems that should guarantee continuality and functionality, might be discussed. In order to manage sustainability, society has to formulate clear and measurable goals of sustainability that should be continuously revised and corrected. The level, at which these goals are implemented, might be measured using sustainable development indicators, i.e. definable and measurable parameters, which show values and trends of development of ecologic, economic, and social stability of a particular region. Speaking about sustainability indicators, we should take into consideration the fact that any separate aggregated indicator does not foresee interchange among three main dimensions analysed in environmental economics: effectiveness, justice and sustainability. Perfect indicators are uncommon; therefore, their development in a general case involves methodological compromise among technical feasibility, public availability to use, and systemic consistency. The effectiveness of sustainability indicators can be characterised by three attributes: credibility, legitimacy, and salience. Sustainable development is a multi-dimensional issue involving huge amounts of complex information. There is some need to systematically reduce this information to a more concentrated form while constructingthe pyramid of information aggregation, at the base of which are raw data and at the top there are indexes. The new primary classification suggested by Bell and Morse (2001) is based on who has set the indicators and how they have been set, with an additional dimension related to whether the sustainability indicator is quantitative or qualitative. When choosing particular sustainability indicators, following principles of sustainable development should be taken into account: a) social justice; b) local government, public participation, democracy; c) sustainable balance between local and imported resources consumption; d) use of local economic potential; e) environmental protection; f) protection of cultural heritage, protection and regeneration of a new environmental quality, increase in functionality and attraction of area and buildings maintained. Economic effectiveness itself does not guarantee ecologic and social sustainability because economic indicators used do not reflect it. Therefore, assessment of sustainable development needs integrated approach, a set of multi-dimensional indicators, which evaluate both separate parts of the system and their relationships.