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 5 th National Report

Using the UK indicators UK biodiversity indicators anticipated to form a major part of the UK’s 5 th 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 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 Improving Little or no overall change Deteriorating Insufficient or no comparable data Traffic Light Assessments

Assessing change over time 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 2Target 3 Regional Targets (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 None 2 indicators (4 measures) Target 9 (invasive species) B6; 3 measures None 1 indicator (3 measures) Target 10 (climate change) B4, B5; 4 measures None 2 indicators (4 measures)

Assessment of Targets 5–10 Bar graphs can be used to display the assessments of the relevant measures for each target of relevance to Goal B.

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

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 MTF B5b: Marine pollution B5a: Air pollution AN + Overview text Top icon = long term Bottom icon = short term

Framework from AHTEG What do we do about biodiversity loss? What are the implications of 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

Q uestions?

2012 results

A generic, project based, process for reporting Initiation Draft 0, Information Request Editing Consultation Draft Editing Final Draft Responses Consultation Ministerial Clearance Submitted Report Final Edit?

CBD 5 th 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 5 th 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 5 th 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 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 5 th National Report Appendices 1.Information concerning the Reporting Party and preparation of the 5 th 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 …