Sustainable Development (Sd) Performance Measurement in the Mauritian Context. Essay Example

projects are straying from their intended purpose.

Assessing sustainable development comprehensively using one metric is currently very challenging and can cause misunderstandings. Previous research has demonstrated that measuring sustainable development involves considering various dimensions and a broad range of indicators, which can be classified into social, economic, and environmental categories. To determine Mauritius' progress towards or away from sustainability, we will utilize the Multi Criteria Decision Analysis method. Evaluating and quantifying the country's sustainable development is essential in achieving this objective. It should be noted that sustainable development is an ongoing process without set goals or predetermined paths.

It is a process that requires dynamic thinking in a holistic manner. Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) which resonates in a holistic way is presented as an appropriate methodology to handle sustainability issues. In the process of MCDA, values of different indicators are projected on a common scale so that it becomes comparable. MCDA can be summarised into 3 major steps: 1.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is responsible for gathering and evaluating official statistical data relating to the economic, environmental, and social activities of the country. Indicators such as energy consumption, water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, waste production, air quality, population statistics, education levels, housing conditions, gross domestic product (GDP), and population density are selected to assess the state of these areas.

Once chosen, these indicators are placed on an ordinal scale and normalized within specific upper and lower limits. By considering their weighted averages based on importance, the normalized values are then combined to create a sustainability value.

There are two potential outcomes: weak sustainability occurs when both natural capital and man-made capital remain constant and can be interchanged; strong

sustainability exists when both types of capital have unchanging values that remain consistent.

Furthermore, there is a limited interchangeability between these two values as the productivity of the former value depends on the availability of the latter. In order to evaluate and determine if the chosen indicators are moving towards or away from sustainability, the two outcomes mentioned above (weak sustainability and strong sustainability) will be utilized.

References

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