Where, and how, do monitoring and sustainability indicators fit into environmental management systems?
G. Carruthers and G. Tinning Abstract Despite the availability of numerous ‘sustainability indicators’ (as defined by researchers and resource-management agency staff), many farmers do not routinely use these indicators for monitoring and measurement of their everyday farm management. Farmers’ past experiences with such indicators have often been through their use by researchers (trying to evaluate effects of management or quantify resource condition changes) or other external bodies (usually regulatory agencies endeavouring to regulate environmental impacts). Such experiences have added little or nothing to on-farm management. Rather, farmers often rely on a diverse range of personally relevant indicators to assess the performance of their farm business. Such indicators may not be recognised by others as indicative of sustainability. The process used in environmental management systems (EMS) implementation is predicated on the need for information to flow back to the manager to assist
