Countdown 2010

Monitoring and Indicators

Why do we need monitoring?

It is widely known that the world is losing a lot of its biodiversity and that the main causes of this are manmade. Many of these factors have been identified and the leaders of states have signed agreements in the different environmental and natural resource use sectors to limit the damage caused. However we still lack a clear understanding of the causal relationships between human activities and the pressures they place on the environment and biodiversity. We need to know how ecosystems and species respond to changes in human activities and therefore how best to mitigate our actions and reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity.

Even with the extensive efforts of scientific institutions, governments and non-governmental organisations, our knowledge of species and their trends is incredibly limited. Also what information already exists is patchily distributed across Europe. The problem is that this information is essential for effective and targeted action, but until recently it has not been prioritised by governments and the European Institutions.

What are indicators?

Indicators are statistics following changes in a particular factor usually over time. These indicators are used to summarise a complex set of data and are seen as being representative of the wider situation in that field. So it can be assumed that if that particular factor is declining or improving, then the situation in general is also declining or improving. They are used to communicate the status and trends of biodiversity to both the public and policy makers. Indicators are also used to assess national performance and can be used to identify the actions required at the policy level. In this manner they provide an important link between policy-makers and scientists collecting the data.

In Europe we have one well-defined and accepted indicator in the form of the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Project developed by Birdlife International and the European Bird Census Council. This indicator is based on the monitoring of selected common farmland, woodland and wetland (with Wetlands International) species in 19 countries in Europe. Birds make a good data source for a biodiversity index because they are found in large numbers in a range of habitats and are responsive and sensitive to environmental change. They are a charismatic species that have always had a population following which has led to the generation of considerable amounts of data on their status and trends over many years. This indicator has now been adopted as part of the United Kingdoms key indicators for sustainable development and is being used at the European level.

IUCN is also working with its partners in the Red List programme to develop biodiversity indicators based on the well known Red Lists of Threatened Species. Currently around 30,000 species (about 1.9% of all known species) have been assessed for the Red Lists and the indicators would be based on the changes in status of these species over time.

The Convention on Biological Diversity

In February 2004, the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, the global forum for biodiversity conservation, agreed a list of 8 headline indicators for immediate testing that would identify the extent to which our efforts to halt biodiversity loss are working. These include:

It’s important to recognise that the indicators being developed at both the global and European level do not only take account of non-human life in the environment. These indicators are also looking to ensure that traditional uses of the environment are not eroded.

European policy on indicators

Currently there are many initiatives working at the different national and European policy levels to identify suitable indicators and data sources. The European Union, as a signatory to the CBD, has an obligation to report on the status of biodiversity in Europe to the global level. It has also got to establish sufficient tools to monitor progress towards its own commitments of halting biodiversity loss in Europe by 2010. As a result a consultative process taking place in 2003-2004 has developed a structure containing 3 levels of indicator:

Currently a list of 15 headline indicators has been developed and proposed to the decision making bodies of the EU.

What Countdown partners are doing:

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