Evaluation of Island Sustainable Development and Its Applications
海岛可持续发展理论及其评价研究

China has 12 island counties distributed in sea areas from the north to the south, which play an important role in exploiting marine resources and expanding marine economy. In this study, the authors built an evaluation system for island sustainable development based on the characteristics of the sustainable development. The evaluation system involves indicators of island subsistence resources, environmental status, societal development, and intelligence evaluation. Furthermore, the authors compared and contrasted the sustainable development of the 12 island counties during the period 2002-2008 based on the reference year of 2002. Results indicate that the 12 counties were generally at moderate or low levels of sustainable development. The status of the sustainable development for the 12 counties can be divided into 3 levels. Limitations in talent and intelligence resources posed a big challenge for island development. The status of sustainable development for the 12 counties will be greatly changed in the near future.