Developing the
UK Biodiversity Indicators
James Williams
Indicators & Reporting Manager,
Joint Nature Conservation Committee,
Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough,
PE1 1JY. United Kingdom.
James.Williams@jncc.gov.uk
+44 (0)1733 86 68 68
www.jncc.gov.uk/biyp
June 2013
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020
Framework for all Conventions and stakeholders.
Vision: Living in harmony with nature. By 2050, biodiversity is
valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining
ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering
benefits essential for all people.”
Mission Take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of
biodiversity in order to ensure that by 2020 ecosystems are
resilient and continue to provide essential services, thereby
securing the planet’s variety of life, and contributing to human
well-being, and poverty eradication
20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets under 5 Strategic Goals
http://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/
Strategic Plan Goals & Targets
A mainstreaming
Targets on: awareness, values/accounting, incentives, mainstreaming
sustainable use
B pressures
Targets on: habitat loss, fisheries, sustainable land use, pollution, invasive
aliens, climate change impacts
C safeguarding
Targets on: protected areas, threatened species, domesticated species
and wild relatives
D benefits
Targets on: ecosystem services, restoration, access to genetic resources
E
knowledge and capacity
Targets on: NBSAPs, local communities, science base, resources
http://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/
UK indicators post-2010
•
2010/11: UK biodiversity indicators reviewed
– gap analysis & data quality check
– all of the indicators can be re-used, albeit with some
requiring modification
– some new indicators will need to be developed to fill gaps
•
2012: new framework implemented
– interim set of 24 indicators (35 measures) published
May 2012
– assigned existing indicators to specific goals and targets
– some may be relevant to multiple targets / goals
– work begun to adjust the UK biodiversity indicator suite,
and to create new indicators to fill the gaps identified in
the review
The Strategic Plan and the
UK biodiversity indicators
• Each indicator is assigned to a Strategic Goal
– e.g. indicators with the prefix ‘A’ are considered to be of most direct
relevance to Goal A.
•
Each indicator is mapped against target(s) as ‘primary
indicator(s)’, or as ‘other relevant indicator(s)’.
– e.g. Target 4 is represented by 3 ‘primary indicators’ (A3, A4, B3), and
3 ‘other relevant indicators’ (B1, B2, D1)
– ‘Primary indicators’ are most closely linked to a target
– ‘Other relevant indicators’ have less strong links but still relevant
•
Indicators may also be of relevance to targets within other
goals
– e.g. Indicator E2 is a ‘primary indicator’ for Target 20 in Goal E, but is
also an ‘other relevant indicator’ for Targets 2 and 3 in Goal A.
Strategic Goal A
mainstreaming
Targets on: awareness, values/accounting, incentives,
mainstreaming sustainable use
Under development
A1: Awareness, understanding &
support
A3: Value of biodiversity integrated
into decision making
A2: Conservation volunteering
A4: Global impact
Strategic Goal B
pressures
Targets on: habitat loss, fisheries, sustainable land use,
pollution, invasive aliens, climate change
B5a: Air pollution
B2 Sustainable fisheries
B5b: Marine pollution
Under development
B1a:Agri-environment Schemes
B4: Spring Index
B3: Integration of
biodiversity into
business activity
B4: Climate change
adaptation
B1b: Sustainable forestry
B6: Invasive species
B7: Water quality
Strategic Goal C
safeguarding
Targets on: protected areas, threatened species,
domesticated species and wild relatives
C9: Animal genetic resources
C6: Butterflies
C1: Protected sites
C8: Bats
Under development
C2: Habitat connectivity
C3: Threatened habitats
C4: Threatened species
C7: Plants
C5: Birds
C9: Plant genetic resources
Strategic Goal D
benefits
Targets on: ecosystem services, restoration, access to genetic resources
Under development
D2: Ecosystem Services
D1: Marine fish size classes
Strategic Goal E
knowledge
and capacity
Targets on: NBSAPs, local communities, science base, resources
E2a: Expenditure on UK biodiversity
E2b: Expenditure on international biodiversity
Under development
E1: Biodiversity data for decision making
Mapping the UK biodiversity
indicators to the Aichi Targets
• Comparison of UK indicators with global-level indicators
developed by the CBD demonstrates a fairly good fit.
•
At present, no indicators have been identified for Targets
16, 17 and 18.
– Target 16 is about the Nagoya protocol on access and benefits
sharing – it would be premature to develop an indicator until how
this is going to work is resolved
– Target 17 is about National Biodiversity Strategy and Action P;lan
(NBSAP) – effectively this is a yes/no response at a national level,
so is suitable for a global indicator, but not a national one
– Target 18 is about indigenous communities – less relevant for UK
Using the UK indicators
•
UK biodiversity indicators anticipated to form a major part of
the UK’s 5th CBD national report
•
Need to analyse progress for each Aichi target
– Likely to need to integrate messages from different indicators
– Other data sources and information also likely to be necessary
•
Some parts of some targets may not be covered
UK Biodiversity Indicators
– governance & implementation
Statutory and Non
Governmental
Organisations, Academia
Four Decisions
Countries
Group
Defra, Devolved
Administrations, JNCC
Defra, Devolved
Administrations, Country
Agencies, JNCC, NGOs
Advice
UK
Biodiversity
Indicators SG
Decisions
Advice
Project
Group
Defra, JNCC
Choosing Indicators
Each indicator should have the following characteristics:
• Policy relevant and meaningful
• Biodiversity relevant
• Scientifically sound and methodologically well founded
• Show progress towards the 2020 targets
• Easy to understand
• Based on affordable monitoring, available and routinely collected data
• Amenable to modelling of cause-effect relationships
• Good spatial and temporal coverage of data
• Applicable at a national scale
• Aggregation possible at a range of scales
• Sensitive to change
The set as a whole should be:
• Representative
• Limited in number
Questions?
CBD 5th National Report
Reports due to be submitted end March 2014
• Part I – An update on biodiversity status, trends, and threats and
implications for human well-being
o Key information: State of biodiversity reports (e.g. birds, butterflies, …)
• Part II – The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
(NBSAP), its implementation, and the mainstreaming of
biodiversity
http://www.cbd.int/nr5/
o Key information: Biodiversity and Environment Strategies.
http://www.cbd.int/nr5/
5th National Report
• Part III – Progress towards the 2015 and 2020 Aichi Biodiversity
Targets and contributions to the relevant 2015 Targets of the
Millennium Development Goals
o Key information: biodiversity indicators
+ Appendices on thematic Programmes of Work & cross-cutting
issues
o Yet to decide what to include
http://www.cbd.int/nr5/
Individual indicators can
contribute to the assessment of
multiple targets (or goals)
Flexible
framework; do not
need to have the
same indicator at
each scale
Regional
Targets
(e.g. EU)
Target 1
Target 2
Goal
Target 3
Headline
indicator
Headline
indicator
Headline
indicator
Headline
indicator
Global
indicator
Global
indicator
Global
indicator
Global
indicator
Regional
indicator
Global
indicator
Regional
indicator
Global
indicator
Regional
indicator
National
indicator
Regional
indicator
National
indicator
National
indicator
National
indicator
National
indicator
National
indicator
etc
etc
etc
etc
National
targets
Framework from AHTEG
What
do dowe
do
What
do we
about
biodiversity loss?
biodiversity loss?
about
Responses
Indicators related to all
Strategic Goals
Why are weWhy
losingare
biodiversity?
we losing
biodiversity?
Pressures and
underlying causes
Indicators broadly related
to Strategic Goals A and B
Benefits
State
Indicators broadly related
to Strategic Goal D
Indicators broadly related
to Strategic Goal C
What
areare
thetheimplications
What
implications of
biodiversity loss?
of biodiversity
loss?
How is the status of
How is the status of
biodiversity
biodiversity
changing? changing?
Strategic Goal A
Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity
across government and society
Target 1. By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the
steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.
Target 2: By 2020, at the latest, the biodiversity values have been integrated into
national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes
and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting
systems.
Target 3: By 2020, at the latest, incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity
are eliminated, phased out or reformed in order to minimize or avoid negative impacts,
and positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are
developed and applied, consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other
relevant international obligations , taking into account national socio-economic conditions.
Target 4: By 2020, at the latest, Governments, business and stakeholders at all levels
have taken steps to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable production and
consumption and have kept the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe
ecological limits.
Strategic Goal B
Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use
Target 5: By 2020, the rate of loss and degradation, and fragmentation, of natural habitats,
including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and
fragmentation is significantly reduced.
Target 6: By 2020, all fish and invertebrate stocks and aquatic plants are managed and harvested
sustainably, legally and applying ecosystem based approaches, so that overfishing is avoided,
recovery plans and measures are in place for all depleted species, fisheries have no significant
adverse impact on threatened species and vulnerable ecosystems and the impacts of fisheries on
stocks, species and ecosystems are within safe ecological limits.
Target 7: By 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably,
ensuring conservation of biodiversity.
Target 8: By 2020, pollution, including from excess nutrients, has been brought to levels that are
not detrimental to ecosystem function and biodiversity.
Target 9: By 2020, invasive alien species and pathways are identified and prioritized, priority
species are controlled or eradicated and measures are in place to manage pathways to prevent
their introduction and establishment of invasive alien species.
Target 10: By 2015, the multiple anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, and other vulnerable
ecosystems impacted by climate change or ocean acidification are minimized, so as to maintain
their integrity and functioning.
Strategic Goal C
To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species
and genetic diversity
Target 11: By 2020, at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water and 10% of coastal
and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and
ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed,
ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and
other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider
landscape and seascape.
Target 12: By 2020, the extinction of known threatened species has been
prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has
been improved and sustained.
Target 13: By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and
domesticated animals and 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.
Strategic Goal D
Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystems
Target 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% of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate
change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification.
Target 16: By 2015, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic resources and the
Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization is in force and
operational, consistent with national legislation.
Strategic Goal E
Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge
management and capacity building
Target 17: By 2015, each Party has developed, adopted as a policy instrument, and has
commenced implemented, an effective, participatory and updated national biodiversity strategy
and action plan.
Target 18: By 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local
communities that are relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and their
customary use of biological resources, are respected, subject to national legislation and relevant
international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the in the implementation of the
Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, at all
relevant levels.
Target 19: By 2020, knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its
values, functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely
shared and transferred, and applied.
Target 20: By 2020, at the latest, the mobilisation of financial resources for effectively
implementing the Strategic Plan 2011-2020 from all sources and in accordance with the
consolidated and agreed process in the Strategy for Resource Mobilisation should increase
substantially from the current levels.
Choosing Indicators (1)
1. Policy relevant and meaningful: Each indicator should be policy relevant.
It should send a clear message at a level appropriate for policy and
management decision making. It should be meaningful on a regional level.
2. Biodiversity relevant: Each indicator should be relevant for biodiversity.
3. Scientifically sound and methodologically well founded: A clear description
of the methodology used should be available as the indicator may be used
in other indicator initiatives also.
4. Progress towards target: Each indicator should show progress towards the
2020 targets.
5. Broad acceptance and understandability: Each indicator should be easy to
understand and to document.
Choosing Indicators (2)
6. Affordable monitoring, available and routinely collected data: Each
indicator should be able to be updated regularly.
7. Affordable modelling: Information on cause-effect relationships should be
achievable and quantifiable.
8. Spatial and temporal coverage of data: the data should be consistent in
space and cover all or most of [select spatial resolution]. The temporal
coverage of data should be as long as possible, and relevant to the
timescale for policy making.
9. National scale and representativeness of data: Each indicator should
apply to the national and relevant supra-national.
10. Sensitive: Each indicator should be able to detect changes in systems in
timeframes and on the scales that are relevant to policy decisions, but
also be robust so that measuring errors do not affect their interpretation.
Traffic Light Assessments
Improving
Little or no overall
change
Deteriorating
Insufficient or no
comparable data
• Two assessment periods for
each indicator
• Long-term – assessment of
change since the earliest date
for which data are available
o If data do not precede
1996 a long term
assessment is not made
• Short-term - assessment of
change since 2000
• Assessment of trend, not
distance to target
Indicator number (Strategic Goal / number), title, and measures
where applicable
A1. Awareness, understanding and support for conservation
Long-term
change1
Change since
20002
Under development, no interim
measure(s) available
A2. Taking action for nature: volunteer time spent in conservation
A3. Value of biodiversity integrated into decision making
A4. Global biodiversity impacts of UK economic activity / sustainable
consumption
B1. Agricultural and forest area
under environmental management
schemes
B1a. Area of
land in agrienvironment
schemes
B1a(i).
Higher-level /
targeted
schemes
B1a(ii). Entrylevel type
schemes
B1b. Area of forestry land
certified as sustainably
managed
Under development, no interim
measure(s) available
Under development, no interim
measure(s) available
1992–2011
2005
2012 results
Indicator number (Strategic Goal / number), title, and
measures where applicable
C5. Birds of the wider countryside C5a. Farmland birds
and at sea
B4. Pressure from climate change
B5. Pressure from pollution
B5a. Air
pollution
B5a(i). Area
affected by
acidity
B5a(ii). Area
affected by
nitrogen
B5b. Marine pollution
C5c. Wetland birds
1975–2010
1990–2010
Under development, no interim
measure(s) available
Not assessed
Not assessed
1996–2007
1960–2008
B6b. Marine invasive
species
1960–2008
C1a. Total area of protected
sites: on land
C1b. Total area of protected
sites: at sea
C2. Habitat connectivity
1970–2010
C5e. Wintering water birds
1975/6–2009/10
C6. Insects of the wider countryside C6a. Semi-natural habitat
(butterflies)
specialists
C7. Plants of the wider countryside C7a. Change in plant species
richness (arable and
horticultural land)
C7b. Change in plant species
richness (woodland and
grassland)
C7c. Change in plant species
richness (boundary habitats)
1976–2011
1976–2011
1998
1990–2007
1998
1990–2007
1998
1990–2007
C8. Mammals of the wider countryside (bats)
1978–1992
1960–2008
1990–2009
C9. Genetic resources for food and C9a. Native sheep breeds
agriculture
C9b. Native cattle breeds
1980–2011
D1. Biodiversity and ecosystem services (marine – fish size
classes in the North Sea)
B7. Water quality
C1. Protected sites
C5d. Seabirds
C6b. Species of the
wider countryside
1996–2007
B6a. Freshwater invasive
species
B6c. Terrestrial invasive
species
1970–2010
1970–2010
2001
1990–2010
B6. Pressure from invasive species
Change since
2000
C5b. Woodland birds
B2. Sustainable fisheries
B3. Integration of biodiversity considerations into business activity
Long-term
change
D2. Biodiversity and ecosystem services (other)
1980–2011
C1c. Condition of A/SSSIs
2005-6
C2a. Broad-leaved, mixed
and yew woodland
C2b. Neutral grassland
1998
1998
C3. Status of threatened habitats
1999
C4. Status of threatened species
1999
E1. Biodiversity data for decision making
E2. Expenditure on UK and
international biodiversity
E2a. Expenditure on UK
biodiversity
E2b. UK Expenditure on
international biodiversity
2001
2001
1982–2010
Under development, no interim
measure(s) available
Under development, no interim
measure(s) available