Using the UK Biodiversity Indicators to contribute to the

Fifth UK National Report to the

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Reports due to be submitted end March 2014

Three main parts:

• Part I – An update on biodiversity status, trends, and threats and

implications for human well-being

• Part II – The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

(NBSAP), its implementation, and the mainstreaming of

biodiversity

• Part III – Progress towards the 2015 and 2020 Aichi Biodiversity

Targets and contributions to the relevant 2015 Targets of the

Millennium Development Goals

+ Appendices on thematic Programmes of Work & cross-cutting

issues

CBD 5th National Report

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, and for each Strategic Goal (A – E)– Progress towards each strategic goal could involve the aggregation of

information from the evaluation of progress towards the targets

– 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

Managing a contradiction

• Indicators as a set are National Statistics

• Individually they are official statistics

• Ministers and Officials not allowed to see results until 24 hours before publication

• Report is an official submission of the UK Government

• Ministers and Officials have to be involved in development and editing

Resolution

• Draft report with 2013 results

• Update indicators in parallel & publish early (March / April?)

• Bring new indicators in after published so final report up-to-date

• Two assessment periods for each indicator

• Long-term – assessment of change since the earliest date for which data are availableo 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

Improving

Little or no overall change

Deteriorating

Insufficient or no comparable data

Traffic Light Assessments

Assessing change over time

2007 2008 2009

2010 20112012

• More green since 2000, therefore making progress?

• But also more red since 2000, and long term

• Is this as a result of improvements, or a decrease in ‘insufficient data’ (white), or a move from red to amber to green.

• Need to look at individual indicators to resolve.

The Strategic Plan and the UK biodiversity indicators

• Each indicator 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.

Individual indicators can contribute to the assessment of multiple targets (or goals)

Target 1 Target 2 Target 3

RegionalTargets (e.g. EU)

National targets

Goal Flexible framework; do not need to have the same indicator at each scale

Assessment of targets and goals

• Each target can be assessed in terms of the indicators (and measures) that are ‘primary indicators’ and ‘other relevant indicators’

• Aggregating the results for the targets allows assessment of the strategic goals.

• A comparison can be made of an assessment made by primary indicators against an assessment of all indicators (including ‘other relevant indicators’).

• Targets 5–10 (Goal B) are provided as an example.

Numbers of indicators & measures used to assess Targets 5 – 10

Target‘primary

indicators’ (# measures)

‘other relevant indicators’

(# measures)

Total number of indicators

(and measures)

Target 5 (habitat loss)

C2, C3; 3 measures

C5, C6, C7, C8, B7; 12 measures

7 indicators(15 measures)

Target 6 (fisheries)

B2; 1 measure

D1; 1 measure

2 indicators(2 measures)

Target 7 (land use)

B1; 3 measures

C5, C6, C7, C8; 11 measures

5 indicators(14 measures)

Target 8 (pollution)

B5, B7; 4 measures

None2 indicators

(4 measures)

Target 9 (invasive species)

B6; 3 measures

None1 indicator

(3 measures)

Target 10 (climate change)

B4, B5; 4 measures

None2 indicators

(4 measures)

Assessment of Targets 5–10

0

5

10

15

long-term change (primary

indicators)

long-term change

(all indicators)

change since 2000(primary

indicators)

change since 2000

(all indicators)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insufficient data

Not assessed

No

. of i

nd

icat

ors/

mea

sure

s

Target 5

0

2

4

long-term change(primary indicators)

change since 2000 (primary indicators)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insufficient data

Not assessedN

o. o

f in

dic

ator

s/m

easu

res

Target 10

0

1

2

long-term change(primary

indicators)

long-term change

(all indicators)

change since 2000 (primary

indicators)

change since 2000

(all indicators)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insufficient data

Not assessed

No

. of i

nd

icat

ors/

mea

sure

s

Target 6

0

2

4

long-term change(primary indicators)

change since 2000 (primary indicators)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insufficient data

Not assessed

No

. of i

nd

icat

ors/

mea

sure

s

Target 8

0

2

4

long-term change(primary indicators)

change since 2000(primary indicators)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insufficient data

Not assessed

No

. of i

nd

icat

ors/

mea

sure

s

Target 9

Bar graphs can be used to display the assessments of the relevant measures for each target of relevance to Goal B.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

long-term change (primary

indicators)

long-term change

(all indicators)

change since 2000(primary

indicators)

change since 2000

(all indicators)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insufficient data

Not assessed

No

. of i

nd

icat

ors/

mea

sure

s

Target 7

Assessment Method 1 (use the primary indicators for each goal)

• Goal B would be measured by 7 indicators (B1 to B7)

• 13 measures (indicators B3 & B4 are currently ‘under development/not assessed’)

• Method 1 does not – take into account the information gathered to assess the targets, as

targets may be assessed by indicators from other goals – allow comparison of ‘primary indicators’ with ‘other relevant indicators’

Method 1 (Goal B)

pie-chart – simple way of showing proportions of the measures improving / deteriorating

Goal B: Long-term change. Based on indicators B1–B7 (13 measures)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insuf f icient data

Not assessed/under development

Goal B: Change since 2000. Based on indicators B1–B7 (13 measures)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insuf f icient data

Not assessed/under development

0

7

14

Long-term change Change since 2000

Not assessed/under development

Insuf f icient data

Deteriorating

Little or no change

Improving

No

. of i

nd

icat

ors/

mea

sure

s

Goal B: Based on Indicators B1–B7, a total of 13 measures(two are included as 'not assessed/under development')

bar chart – clearly displays the number of measures being shown.

Assessment Method 2 (use all the indicators linked with a target)

• Method 2 also uses the relevant indicators within each target associated with a particular goal – e.g. indicators of relevance to Targets 5–10 for Strategic Goal B.

• It does not, however, duplicate indicators. – e.g. indicator B5 is a primary indicator for both Target 8 and Target 10, but

would only be included once.

• Indicators which are identified as both ‘primary indicators’ and ‘other relevant indicators’ for different targets are only included as primary indicators.

• This method enables comparison of primary indicators with data gathered from all indicators.

Method 2 (Goal B)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insuf f icient data

Not assessed

Goal B: Long-term change – primary indicators (8 indicators, 15 measures)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insuf f icient data

Not assessed

Goal B: Change since 2000 – primary indicators (8 indicators, 15 measures)

Method 2 considers all the information gathered to assess the targets within a Strategic Goal.

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insuf f icient data

Not assessed

Goal B: Change since 2000 – all indicators (13 indicators, 27 measures)

Improving

Little or no change

Deteriorating

Insuf f icient data

Not assessed

Goal B: Long-term change – all indicators (13 indicators, 27 measures)

0

7

14

21

28

Long-term change (primary

indicators)

Long-term change (all indicators)

Change since 2000 (primary

indicators)

Change since 2000 (all

indicators)

Improving Little or no change Deteriorating

Insufficient data Not assessed

No

. of i

nd

icat

ors/

mea

sure

s

Goal B: 8 primary indicators (15 measures), 13 total indicators (27 measures)

• Based on discussions yesterday

• Simpler presentation of primary (+ relevant?) indicators together

• Graphics for indicators with icons showing long term and short term assessments

• May wish to rank relevance to goal in order of presentation

• Plus simple overview text

• Could also look to show all indicators for– Pressures

– State

– Responses

– Benefits

Dashboard(s)

Are pressures decreasing? Are state / responses / benefits increasing?

Dashboard for Goal B pressures

B4: Spring Index

Targets on: habitat loss, fisheries, sustainable land use, pollution, invasive aliens, climate change

B1a:Agri-environment Schemes

B1b: Sustainable forestry

B2 Sustainable fisheries

B6: Invasive species

M T F

B5b: Marine pollution

B5a: Air pollution

A N

+ Overview text

Top icon = long term

Bottom icon = short term

Framework from AHTEG

Pressures and underlying causes

Indicators broadly related to Strategic Goals A and B

State Indicators broadly related

to Strategic Goal C

Responses

Indicators related to all Strategic Goals

Benefits Indicators broadly related

to Strategic Goal D

What do we do about biodiversity loss?

What are the implicationsof biodiversity loss?

Why are we losing biodiversity?

How is the status of biodiversity changing?

Workshop

• Two main points to discuss– Peer review of ideas– What information do we need to bring together to assess Goal B? (as example)

• Need to ground in reality – time constraints in production of CBD report, therefore has to be relatively

straightforward to do

• 2 parallel groups

• Start with a discussion about the ideas in the paper and presentation, synthesise, then consider what is needed to assess Goal B

Questions?

Indicator number (Strategic Goal / number), title, and measures where applicable

Long-term change1

Change since 20002

A1. Awareness, understanding and support for conservation 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 Under development, no interim measure(s) available

A4. Global biodiversity impacts of UK economic activity / sustainable consumption

Under development, no interim measure(s) available

B1. Agricultural and forest area under environmental management schemes

B1a. Area of land in agri-environment schemes

B1a(i). Higher-level / targeted schemes

1992–2011

B1a(ii). Entry-level type schemes

2005

B1b. Area of forestry land certified as sustainably managed

2001

B2. Sustainable fisheries 1990–2010

B3. Integration of biodiversity considerations into business activity Under development, no interim measure(s) available

B4. Pressure from climate change Not assessed Not assessed

B5. Pressure from pollution B5a. Air pollution

B5a(i). Area affected by acidity

1996–2007

B5a(ii). Area affected by nitrogen

1996–2007

B5b. Marine pollution 1990–2010

B6. Pressure from invasive species B6a. Freshwater invasive species

1960–2008

B6b. Marine invasive species

1960–2008

B6c. Terrestrial invasive species

1960–2008

B7. Water quality

1990–2009

C1. Protected sites C1a. Total area of protected sites: on land

1980–2011

C1b. Total area of protected sites: at sea

1980–2011

C1c. Condition of A/SSSIs 2005-6

C2. Habitat connectivity C2a. Broad-leaved, mixed and yew woodland

1998

C2b. Neutral grassland 1998

C3. Status of threatened habitats 1999

C4. Status of threatened species 1999

Indicator number (Strategic Goal / number), title, and measures where applicable

Long-term change

Change since 2000

C5. Birds of the wider countryside and at sea

C5a. Farmland birds 1970–2010

C5b. Woodland birds 1970–2010

C5c. Wetland birds 1975–2010

C5d. Seabirds 1970–2010

C5e. Wintering water birds 1975/6–2009/10

C6. Insects of the wider countryside (butterflies)

C6a. Semi-natural habitat specialists

1976–2011

C6b. Species of the wider countryside

1976–2011

C7. Plants of the wider countryside C7a. Change in plant species richness (arable and horticultural land)

1990–2007

1998

C7b. Change in plant species richness (woodland and grassland)

1990–2007

1998

C7c. Change in plant species richness (boundary habitats)

1990–2007

1998

C8. Mammals of the wider countryside (bats) 1978–1992

C9. Genetic resources for food and agriculture

C9a. Native sheep breeds 2001

C9b. Native cattle breeds 2001

D1. Biodiversity and ecosystem services (marine – fish size classes in the North Sea)

1982–2010

D2. Biodiversity and ecosystem services (other) Under development, no interim measure(s) available

E1. Biodiversity data for decision making Under development, no interim measure(s) available

E2. Expenditure on UK and international biodiversity

E2a. Expenditure on UK biodiversity

E2b. UK Expenditure on international biodiversity

2012 results

A generic, project based, process for reporting

InitiationDraft 0,

Information Request

Editing

Consultation Draft

EditingFinal Draft

Responses

Consultation

Ministerial Clearance

Submitted Report

Final Edit?

CBD 5th National Report Part I

An update on biodiversity status, trends, and threats and

implications for human well-being

Q1: Why is biodiversity important for your country?

Q2: What major changes have taken place in the status and trends of

biodiversity in your country?

Q3: What are the main threats to biodiversity?

Q4: What are the impacts of the changes in biodiversity for ecosystem

services and the socio-economic and cultural implications of these

impacts?

Optional: What are possible future changes for biodiversity and their

impacts?

CBD 5th National Report Part II

The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, its

implementation, and the mainstreaming of biodiversity

Q5: What are the biodiversity targets set by your country?

Q6: How has your NBSAP been updated to incorporate these targets

and to serve as an effective instrument to mainstream biodiversity?

Q7: What actions has your country taken to implement the

Convention since the fourth report and what have been the outcomes

of these actions

Q8: How effectively has biodiversity been mainstreamed into relevant

sectoral strategies, plans and programmes?

Q9: How fully has your NBSAP been implemented?

CBD 5th National Report Part III

Progress towards the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and

contributions to the relevant 2015 Targets of the Millennium

Development Goals

Q10: What progress has been made by your country towards the

implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and

its Aichi Biodiversity Targets?

Q11: What has been the contribution of actions to implement the

Convention towards the acheivement of the relevant 2015 targets of

the Millennium Development Goals in your country?

Q12: What lessons have been learned from the implementation of

the Convention in your country?

CBD 5th National ReportAppendices

1. Information concerning the Reporting Party and preparation of

the 5th National Report

2. Further sources of information

3. Implementation of Thematic Programmes of Work / cross-

cutting issues e.g.

• Islands, inland waters, marine & coastal …

• Ecosystem approach, Climate change, Global Strategy for

Plant Conservation …