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The best indicators trigger human action, or have the potential to do
so. They might do this in several ways - including seeking confirmatory
monitoring, or research. They may highlight an emerging or worsening
environmental problem that needs to be addressed. For example, increasingly
frequent algal blooms in a river may indicate problems. A drop in the
area of a catchment covered by deep-rooted vegetation may point to the
danger of increased soil loss or rising ground waters. Disappearance
of a bird species from a country town might point to the declining condition
of nearby remnant vegetation. In each case, remedial action is needed.
Some indicators may have trigger levels above which environmental
action is recommended or required. For example, where the concentrations
of pollutants such as ozone or carbon monoxide exceeds levels that endanger
health, it is necessary to take steps to reduce them.
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Diagnostic indicators
One strategy proposed for designing indicators
is to build a 'diagnostic pyramid'. At the top of the pyramid
would be a general indicator of the overall health of a system.
Ideally, this would be a simple indicator which can be monitored
cheaply. So long as this indicator continued to show that the
system is healthy, no other indicators would be needed.
At the next level, a suite of more powerful,
but more expensive, indicators might be developed. While more
expensive to monitor, these would provide more information about
the specific causes of decline in a system. A deterioration in
the simple indicator of overall health would be the trigger to
begin monitoring these more detailed indicators. However, simple
indicators of overall health, used for early warning purposes,
are often difficult to develop, except on small space scales,
and are a problem needing further research. They are also far
from the only sorts of indicators needed for policy and management
purposes.
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The best use will be made of indicators when they are explicitly built
into management processes. Put the other way, management processes will
often be better if they make explicit and thoughtful use of indicators
in connection with agreed objectives. At present, many parts of Australia's
environment are managed with minimum information and without well defined
objectives or indicators. If indicators are to be of maximum benefit,
managers and decision makers must build them into their thinking and
decision-making, preferably by establishing links between indicator
change and management strategies. Indicators must transcend politics.
As the management cycle changes, the indicators which interact with
it should be kept under review to ensure they remain relevant to management
needs.
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