Developing Biodiversity Indicators

Measuring Conservation Impact at Global and Project Scales

Valerie Kapos

Unprecedented change: Terrestrial Ecosystems

• 5-10% area of five biomes converted between 1950 & 1990

• >2/3 of the area of two biomes, & >1/2 of the area of four others converted by 1990

• Conversion of further >20% of potential area of tropical and sub-tropical moist forests projected by 2050.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005

Global starting points…

• Convention on Biological Diversity – – 1992,

– now 188 governments

• Millennium Development Goals

• CBD Strategic Plan, adopted by the Conference of Parties at its sixth meeting

• Hague Ministerial Declaration, adopted by Ministers responsible for CBD implementation

• Plan of Implementation adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development

How are we doing?

• Process-based indicators

• Biodiversity indicators• Outcome-oriented

programmes of work

Performance can be monitored at several levels:

• Input - have you spent the money? Activity - what did you do with it? Output - what did it get you? How good

was it? Outcome - what effect has it had on the

problem (cf. what would have happened without it?)

Impact - what is happening to the ecosystems/habitats/species/populations

Common issues and concerns

• Clearly stated biodiversity objectives often lacking

• Assumptions rarely explicitly stated

• More biodiversity objectives increases monitoring burden.

• Long time frames – outside normal project cycles

• Many impacts unanticipated

• ‘Control’ data useful but costly

2010 Target

“ . . .achieve a significant reduction in of the current rate of biodiversity loss at global, national and regional levels as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth.”

CBD indicator framework

Framework for targets and indicators:

• biodiversity components

• sustainable use

• threats to biodiversity

• ecosystem integrity, good and services

• traditional knowledge, innovations, practices

• access and benefit sharing

• resource transfers, both ODA and technology

Proposed global indicators

Status and trends of components, e.g.:

• extent of selected habitats

• abundance and distribution of species

• change in status of threatened species

• trends in genetic diversity of domesticated species

• coverage of protected areas

Locations undergoing high rates of land cover change in the past few decades

Biodiversity: Living Planet Index Tropical and Temperate Forest Species

Trends over time in an average species population in each of the forest types.

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Tropicalforests

Temperate forests

Measures changes in number of species in each Red List category and number changing categories between successive threat assessments. Butchart et al. (2004).

Biodiversity Decline: Red List Index

              

Growth in Protected Areas Worldwide

Cumulative Growth in Protected Areas by 5 Year Increment

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,000

1872 1887 1902 1917 1932 1947 1962 1977 1992 2003

Year

Nu

mb

er o

f si

tes

0

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

14,000,000

16,000,000

18,000,000

Are

a (k

m2)

Area of sites Number of sites

Proposed global indicators

Sustainable use, e.g.:

• area of forest, agriculture and aquaculture ecosystems under sustainable management

• proportion of products derived from sustainable sources

Threats to biodiversity, e.g.:

• nitrogen deposition

• numbers and cost of alien invasions

1860

1993

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition

Proposed global indicators

Ecosystem integrity, goods and services, e.g.:

• trophic indices (marine and potentially others)

• connectivity/fragmentation

• water quality in aquatic ecosystems

• biodiversity used in food and medicine

Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003

Habitat loss – extent and fragmentation

Proposed global indicators

Indicators concerned with:

• status of traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices

• status of access and benefit sharing

• status of resource transfers, including both ODA and technology transfer

GEF funded project (FSP)

• Building a partnership to track progress at the global level in achieving the 2010 biodiversity target (www.twentyten.net)

• PDF B ($500K), and two full project stages:

• 2006-2009 - Indicator development and testing ($6m)

• 2009-2012 - Reporting and looking ahead ($6m)

Monitoring and indicators - many partners and scales

Communicating 2010 indicators

• Supporting the regular delivery of global 2010 biodiversity indicators through web and other media

• Reporting to the CBD through GBO, and other audiences through a range of mechanisms and process.

• Opportunity for key link with C2010.

www.twentyten.net

Marine Trophic Index

3.2

3.25

3.3

3.35

3.4

3.45

3.5

3.55

3.6

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Me

an

tro

ph

icle

vel

Global coastal

North Atlantic

2000Year

3.2

3.25

3.3

3.35

3.4

3.45

3.5

3.55

3.6

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Me

an

tro

ph

icle

vel

Global coastal

North Atlantic

2000Year

3.2

3.25

3.3

3.35

3.4

3.45

3.5

3.55

3.6

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Me

an

tro

ph

icle

vel

Global coastal

North Atlantic

20003.2

3.25

3.3

3.35

3.4

3.45

3.5

3.55

3.6

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Me

an

tro

ph

icle

vel

Global coastal

North Atlantic

2000Year