Indicators are being used increasingly as a tool serving better managementÐincluding through performance measurement. This is to be encouraged, but with care taken not to create an 'indicators industry' with indicators somewhat of an end in themselves instead of a powerful tool for judging the success or failure of our environmental actions. Distortion of the purpose and value of indicators will be avoided if a realistic view is maintained of their uses and limitations and of the need to develop practical, soundly-based methodologies for their development and use.

This website is one small step in that, providing a context and some guidelines for those developing and using indicators - but it is far from a blueprint. Above all, its message is that indicators must be embedded in whatever policy and management processes - and underlying aims - they are serving, and that managers must respond to the signals that indicators can provide.

Rigorous scientific underpinning of indicators is essential. As our understanding of environmental systems improves, it will be possible to select better, more cost-effective indicators. It is particularly important to improve our understanding of all elements of biological diversity if better indicators are to be developed. Through science, steady improvements in the underlying knowledge of systems will continue to occur, particularly in terms of understanding the interconnections between factors and between systems. One promising area for further research is 'whole of system' properties which may help lead to simpler indicator sets. Nevertheless, there will be a continuing need to recognise, and accept, the uncertainty in scientific and policy knowledge of what is happening and how to fix it.

Improved instrumentation will allow ever more sensitive detection and monitoring. Current trends are towards greater use of powerful remote sensing techniques, using satellite or aerial platforms, and better automated recording technologies such as automatic data loggers at remote sites.

Indicator data will be quicker and faster in both capture and analysis with more use of real-time measures and complex and powerful modelling and statistical techniques. These will also facilitate the aggregation of local, regional and national data, the more accurate reconstruction of historical data for trend analysis and the use of available data for multiple purposes, with related savings in collection costs.

Indicators will be able to be used more readily by managers and policy makers. The indicators process will be backed by powerful visualisation techniques. Indicator use will feed to better reporting and communication.

At the same time as more sophisticated and complex techniques and technologies become available to scientists and managers, simple indicators and tools must be made available to community groups and individuals to enhance democratic participation in environmental understanding and management. The simple local level of activity will remain a cornerstone of effective environmental action.

As repeatedly stated, environmental indicators serve management processes. These vary widely in nature, scale and complexity but usually require the integration of a range of factors, of which the physical environmental are only one part. More and more it is realised that robust solutions require attention to each of social, economic and environmental factors. Indicators are being developed to better serve this broad ecological-social-economic sustainability approach.

Overall, the use of indicators in natural and human influenced systems is in its infancy and many steps to improved use will be taken over the next few years.