In May 2002, the European Council and Parliament adopted the "Recommendation concerning the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management". This ICZM Recommendation stresses the need for appropriate information transfer from science to end users such as decision-makers and the public at large.

To improve the understanding of coastal and marine processes and build community support for ICZM, attention must focus on the monitoring of relevant, reliable and comprehensive indicators that are representative of sustainable development in the coastal zone. Sustainability indicators help to describe whether we are moving away from or towards a more sustainable coast.

In November 2004, the EU ICZM Expert Group approved the proposed set of 27 Indicators for Sustainable Development (ISD), recommending that the ISD set be used as the "backbone" of the Member States National Coastal Strategies (2006). For an overview of these National Strategies and an assessment of the use of indicators, click here. The SAIL State of the Coast Report provides a first indicators-based regional scale assessment in the southern North Sea. The ISD provide benchmarks for identifying future trends in sustainability for our coasts. A common methodology applicable for the 27 ISD at EU level, is provided by the DEDUCE project.