A Policy PerspectiveAligning indicators to strategies and targets

Dr Sarah WebsterHead of UK Biodiversity Policy Unit

UK has a range of commitments…

• Biodiversity policy has multiple objectives at multiple scales:

– International; Convention on Biological Diversity’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the Aichi targets

– European: EU Biodiversity Strategy– National: UK Biodiversity Framework and Country

Strategies– Local: For various local initiatives

• All of which contribute towards our aim to Halt the Loss of Biodiversity by 2020

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At a range of scales…

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… Indicators contribute to reporting against these targets

International European UK CBD   5 Strategic Goals

 20 Aichi Targets

 EU Biodiversity Strategy  6 Targets

 20 Actions 

 UK Biodiversity Framework underpinned by country level strategies For example Biodiversity 2020 in England with 4 overarching Outcomes 

Indicators are useful because…

• They are a communication tool:– To summarise complex information– To be accessible to non-specialists– Part of the evidence to show progress towards targets

at varying scales

• They are/should be:– Outcome focused– Easy to understand– Robust, reliable, relevant

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Reporting at the international scale…

• 5th National Report to CBD submitted in April 2014

• An important source of information for a mid-term review of progress towards 2020 targets

• Parties were encouraged to emphasize the use of indicators in their reports

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How indicators helped…

• 25 UK Indicators have been mapped to the 5 Strategic Goals of the CBD

• Enabled more streamlined reporting

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A country strategy example…

• Country strategies translate CBD agreement and commitment into country level action

• Biodiversity 2020 is the strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystem services

• Included commitment to “develop and publish a set of indicators to assess delivery of the strategy”

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England level indicators are…

• Limited in number so that they are easily understood

• Easy to use• Cost effective• Outcome focussed• Aligned with UK, European and Global

Frameworks – so we can ‘scale-up’ reporting

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An example of local use…

• In England we have 12 government funded Nature Improvement Areas

• We have a framework of core, optional and local indicators

• Provides both national picture and bottom-up

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Using indicators for reporting…

• Proxies may be needed if direct measures are unavailable

• Relatively simple indicators are easier to communicate and have more impact

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• Proliferation of indicators is not helpful• To reflect on policy intervention we need to report

over a relatively short time period

1. Confidence in the indicator – that it is robust, reliable and accurate

2. We need to understand what an indicator is telling us – and what a suite of indicators together tells us

3. Ideally we need to understand causality

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We need three key things…

A final word…

• To date, a headline suite of indicators, easily understood and communicated to all, has proved to be a robust model and the most effective solution for communicating such a difficult subject to such a wide audience.

• The UK approach to biodiversity indicators has been well received internationally and has helped to place the UK at the forefront of international work on this subject.

• We should be proud of what we have already achieved as we look forwards!

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Thank you

sarah.webster@defra.gsi.gov.uk

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