Scientific Research Basis for Sustainable Development of the Mountain Regions: Main Concepts and Basic Theories - Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions: Southeastern Europe - page 6

The remaining indicators are either contextual indicators or those “to be developed”
in the future (Eurostat, 2007 ).
Sustainable development policy indicators should be based on the principles and
objectives of the EU SDS aiming at development of a clear understanding of the
additional headings of governance and global partnership directed to the policy pri-
orities and organized within a thematic structure that would be readily understood
by policymakers. The scientific basis on which sustainable development indicators
are build needs to be also regionally tested and relevant to the specific environmental
features of a given territory, like mountain, coastal or urban regions.
1.3 PSR and DPSIR Models Require Transdisciplinarity
A number of models have been proposed for developing indicators, and illustrat-
ing the links between issues, particularly for environmental indicators. The best
known of these is the “pressure, state, response” model developed originally by
OECD. This is also the basis of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable
Development (UNCSD) framework of sustainable development indicators. It has
been adapted by the European Environment Agency into the “DPSIR” model
(Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impact, Responses).
These models were developed primarily to help in understanding the interactions
between the economy and the environment so they are not entirely appropriate for
dealing with sustainable development. However, the concept of “ecosystem services
(ESS)” essentially examines the link between biodiversity, ecosystems, and human
well-being and plays important role in implementation of the DPRIR model in the
studies on sustainability.
According to DPSIR terminology, human developments (drivers, D) exert pres-
sures (P) on the environment and, as a consequence, the state (S) of the environment
changes (changes of ecosystems). This has impacts (I) on humans and the society
(by less or changed provision of ecosystems services), which may elicit a soci-
etal response (R). This response may either target the drivers, the pressures, the
state or the impacts on society via various mitigation, adaptation or curative actions
(Odermatt, 2004 ).
The research basis for sustainable development requires implementation of
methods and knowledge from different scientific disciplines incorporated into a
multidisciplinary account. The uniform understanding about the concepts we use
in the research process of a given ecological target category, like mountains, is of
crucial importance for the successful integration of knowledge and achievement of
scientific results.
However, what we are going to do in the process of this integration? The answers
are given in many publications from different authors:
Multidisciplinary studies joining together two or more disciplines without inte-
gration. It is a wide range of subject matter and of conceptual frameworks,
exploring the current state of mountain areas (Messerli and Ives, 1997 );