04 hilary allison-unep-wcmc-indicators-restoration-tree-diversity-day

Supporting forest restoration through assessment and indicators presentation name by going to View > Slide Master and editing the master slide April 2014

ICRAF - Tree diversity for landscape restoration Friday, 10 October 2014Session 2 : Tools and indicators for use to assess progress towards Aichi targets

Supporting forest restoration through assessment and indicators

Hilary AllisonUNEP-WCMC Head of Ecosystem Assessment Programme


Supporting forest restoration through assessment and indicators

1. Role of forest restoration in delivery of Aichi targets - the global story

2. Forest restoration – delivering ecosystem services

3. Tools to support decision making and monitoring of forest restoration at national, sub national and local scale

Outline of presentation


1. Role of forest restoration in delivery of Aichi targets

• Target 5: By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.

• Target 7 : By 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably, ensuring conservation of biodiversity

• Target 13 By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally valuable species, is maintained, and strategies have been developed and implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity.

• Targets 14, By 2020, ecosystems that provide essential services, including services related to water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable.

• Target 15 By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification


1. Role of forest restoration in delivery of Aichi targets

Target 5 Loss of habitats halved or reduced Indicator Extent of forest cover

At the global level, the rate of forest area loss has slowed from -8.3 million hectares per year during the period 1990-2000, to -5.2 million hectares per year during 2000-2010.

Net change in forest area by country, 2005-2010 (ha/yearSource: FAO, 2010

Trends in forest area, 1990-2010


1. Role of forest restoration in delivery of Aichi targets Target 7 Areas under sustainable management Indicator: Area of forest under sustainable management: certification



• Forest restoration drivers– as part of response to climate change– in restoring vital ecosystem services– revitalising local economies

• Progress on restoration in response to all these drivers is result of cumulative national and sub national decisions

• In particular national and sub-national interventions often in response to desire for more delivery of ecosystem services

• Assessment of what kind of interventions to deliver ecosystems services can be achieved through employing tools like TESSA

• Indicators a way of monitoring the impact of restoration decisions



FOREST ECOSYSTEM SERVICES (adapted from UK National Ecosystem Assessment, 2011)

Provisioning services

Crops (NTFP) livestock and fisheries Trees for timberTrees for fuelForests and water management (upland catchment protection)

Regulating services

Climate (reducing climate stress, carbon sequestration) Hazards (soil protection & flood protection) Diseases or pestsDetoxification and purification (water quality, soil quality, air quality, noise reduction)Pollination

Cultural servicesBiodiversity Forest environment, (personal wellbeing, social cohesion, education, art, recreation, health, landscape character )

Supporting services

Soil formation, nutrient cycling, water cycling, production Biodiversity


• TESSA

• Biodiversity Indicator Development Framework

3. Tools to support decision making and monitoring of forest restoration

TESSA

Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment


The problem: Lack of site-level tools available to non-experts on the ground to collect

locally-relevant data to inform local decision-making

Project objective: “To develop and deploy a rapid assessment tool to understand how far

conserving sites for their biodiversity importance also helps to conserve different ecosystem services, relative to a converted state”.

Why TESSA?



What needs does the tool address?

• Site-scale ES assessments• Accessible to non-experts • Lower cost • Deliver scientifically robust results quickly


Scope

Global climate

regulation Harvested wild goods

Water-related services

Nature-based

recreation

Cultivated goods


What does TESSA do?• Rapid assessment of

ES

• Identify & compare alternative site

• Use participatory mapping & surveys to collect data

Outline of Toolkit

Forested mountain Cultivated mountain


What does TESSA do?

• Offers step by step guidance

• Identifies winners & losers visually

Decision-tree for methods to use – e.g. water related services


Links between TESSA and Regulation / Spatial Planning

• Assessments by TESSA help land-use decision-making by:

1) Estimating ecosystem services values both qualitatively and quantitatively

2) Visually and quantitatively demonstrating the trade-offs between the current and alternative state.

Wetland grasses, forest

Loss of wetland grasses & forest habitats

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve

Alternative state -


Go to http://tessa.tools/

http://tessa.tools/


TESSA Toolkit

•Webinar

•Downloadable toolkit

•Ecosystem Services papers


• Track progress in achieving targets

• Guide policy design & implementation:o Highlight where action is neededo Adaptive management

• Build support:o Communicate simple messages

Uses of biodiversity indicators:



Joined Up IndicatorsPRESSURE – STATE – BENEFIT - RESPONSE


What is a successful indicator?

Scientifically valid – theory of relationship between the indicator and its purpose (what change in the indicator means) + reliability of the data

Based on available data – over time (monitoring)

Responsive to change in the issue of interest

Easily understandable – conceptually + presentation + interpretation

Relevant to user’s needs

It is used! (for measuring progress, early-warning, understanding an issue, awareness-raising, …)


Purpose – actions needed for selecting successful indicators

Production – essential to generate indicators

Permanence – mechanisms for ensuring indicator continuity and sustainability

BIODIVERSITY INDICATOR DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK


Purpose – actions needed for selecting successful indicators


Production – essential to generate indicators


Permanence – mechanisms for ensuring indicator continuity and sustainability


www.bipindicators.net


CONCLUSIONS

• Forest restoration is contributing to overall global delivery of Aichi targets

• Decisions to restore forests happen at varying scales and due to a combination of drivers among which is included improving the delivery of ecosystem services

• Assessment of forest restoration in terms of ecosystem service delivery needn’t be an overwhelming task

• Important to monitor the impact of forest restoration decisions including through well designed indicators

• Plenty of decision support tools to assist you

Documents

04 hilary allison-unep-wcmc-indicators-restoration-tree-diversity-day