A Policy Perspective Aligning indicators to strategies and targets Dr Sarah Webster Head 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

At a range of scales… 3 … Indicators contribute to reporting against these targets InternationalEuropeanUK 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 4

Reporting at the international scale… 5 th 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 5

How indicators helped… 25 UK Indicators have been mapped to the 5 Strategic Goals of the CBD Enabled more streamlined reporting 6

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” 7

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 8

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 9

Using indicators for reporting… Proxies may be needed if direct measures are unavailable Relatively simple indicators are easier to communicate and have more impact 10 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 11 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! 12

Thank you 13