Sustainable development policy in Israel aims to respond to the development needs of a progressive, modern and egalitarian society, while preserving vital spatial and environmental resources.

The policy is designed to accommodate a growing population and a continuous rise in standard of living, while wisely and efficiently utilizing the country's resources and assuring opportunities and services to the weakest population groups; to allocate space for development and building while conserving land resources, especially high quality and sensitive ones; to meet the annual demand for water while preserving the quality of different water sources and assuring their quantity and continuation for future generations; and to meet the needs of industry, transport and energy production while maintaining air quality for the pleasure and health of the general population.

Indicators are expected to help assess the environmental implications of development trends and to test whether they advance or contradict sustainable development policy. Indicators also help to check whether development takes into account the scarcity and vulnerability of environmental resources and uses them cautiously and prudently, or needlessly depletes them. One of the main aims of the indicators is to set "red lights" in those areas in which discerned trends substantially contradict sustainable development principles. The role of indicators is to guide human actions so that most of the resources remain for present and future generations and to assure well-being and ample opportunities to the general public, including the weaker sectors of the population.

The process of formulating sustainable development indicators in Israel began with discussions about the nature of such indicators, their compilation from different sources and their appropriateness to conditions in Israel. A range of experts from different disciplines participated in the discussions and reviewed development trends and indicators that would be most suitable for depicting trends in Israel. A report entitled "Sustainable Development Indicators in Israel, Summary Report Phase I " first proposed a series of indicators, some of which were based on international sources following adaptation to Israel's needs, and some of which were developed from the outset to respond to Israel's unique conditions.

Although Israel resembles developed Western countries, it nevertheless differs from them in term of its dimensions, physical conditions, rate of development and way of life. The accelerated development which the country has witnessed over the past 60 years is essentially unmatched in Western countries. Israel's population grew more than tenfold from the time the state was first established, and massive development was needed to respond to such accelerated growth – in terms of built-up area, industry, infrastructure development and utilization of scarce land and water sources.

Alongside the emphasis placed on environmental aspects and the need to leave resources for future generations, indicators were also chosen to reveal social and economic trends. Concern for the weaker sectors of the population and prevention of poverty and economic deterioration are significant directions in achieving sustainable development and are represented by a specific series of indicators.

The current document presents ten indicators which are based on the first phase report. These indicators were selected to represent the groups established in Agenda 21 in the social, environmental and economic realms, with the exception of the institutional realm.

The first two phases of the project represent the beginning of an extended process of formulating a comprehensive, dynamic and up to date system of indicators. This system will serve as a tool for policy makers, government bodies and the environmental administration in monitoring the success and effectiveness of trends in achieving sustainable development.