Abstract
For the first time, this paper introduces and describes a new Weighted Environmental Index (WEI) based on object-oriented models and GIS data. The index has been designed to integrate all the available information from extensive and detailed GIS databases. After the conceptual definition of the index has been justified, two applications for the regional and local scales of the WEI are shown. The applications analyze the evolution over time of the environmental value from land-use change for two different case studies in Spain: the Valencian Region and the L’Alcora municipality. Data have been obtained from the Spanish Land Occupation Information System (SIOSE) public database and integrate GIS information about land use/land cover on an extensive, high-detailed scale. Results demonstrate the application of the WEI to real case studies and the importance of integrating statistical analysis of WEI evolution over time to arrive at a better understanding of the socio-economic and environmental processes that induce land-use change.
Highlights
Current efforts to define and establish environmental indicators stem from early debates about sustainability, popularized by the “Brundtland Report” and “Agenda 21” [1,2]
Current and future work on environmental indicators should consider the following aspects [13]: (i) indicators are the product of numerous measuring processes that oversimplify environmental trends, while ignoring important social and political factors produced by the indicators; (ii) the establishment of new indicators should move away from rapid, ad-hoc and uncritical development, to follow a more careful process where indicators are contextualized based on the factors that produce them at different scales; and (iii) care must be taken in applying indicators in environmental management and policies
This paper introduces a new environmental index named WEI (Weighted Environmental Index), based on land use analysis techniques, that allows all the information obtained from official public databases to be integrated on a detailed scale
Summary
Current efforts to define and establish environmental indicators stem from early debates about sustainability, popularized by the “Brundtland Report” and “Agenda 21” [1,2]. Environmental indicators have become a fundamental tool in environmental assessment at detailed, local, regional and national levels [3] These environmental indicators significantly influence environmental management and the formulation of environmental policies [4], as well as monitoring and evaluation processes [5,6]. Current and future work on environmental indicators should consider the following aspects [13]: (i) indicators are the product of numerous measuring processes that oversimplify environmental trends, while ignoring important social and political factors produced by the indicators; (ii) the establishment of new indicators should move away from rapid, ad-hoc and uncritical development, to follow a more careful process where indicators are contextualized based on the factors that produce them at different scales; and (iii) care must be taken in applying indicators in environmental management and policies. The methodology underlying the definition and development of indicators must conform to scientific standards [3,14]
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