Uneven use of biodiversity indicators in 5th National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Rashi Bhatt ◽  
Michael J. Gill ◽  
Healy Hamilton ◽  
Xuemei Han ◽  
Helaine M. Linden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Biodiversity Indicators ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Quantitative Indicators ◽  
Global Indicators

SummaryIndicators are necessary to monitor national progress toward commitments made to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), but countries often struggle to mobilize quantitative indicators for many biodiversity targets. Assessing the extent to which countries are using measurable indicators from global and national sources by surveying 5th National Reports to the CBD, we found that nationally generated indicators were used 11 times more frequently than global indicators and only one-fifth of indicators matched those recommended by the CBD, suggesting that countries and indicator experts should work more closely to agree upon measurable, scalable, fit-for-purpose indicators for the next generation of CBD targets.

scholarly journals Composing biodiversity indicators for the conservation of mangrove ecosystem in Xuan Thuy National Park, Vietnam

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choshin Haneji ◽  
Van Tu Do ◽  
Duc Loi Vu ◽  
Tuan Hung Duong
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Mangrove Ecosystem ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Indicators ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Mangrove Ecosystems ◽  
Monitoring Of Biodiversity

Biodiversity indicators for the conservation of mangrove ecosystems of Xuan Thuy National Park were composed, taking into account the environmental, biotic, and anthropological factors, based on suggested indicators provided by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Relevant environmental, biotic, and anthropological factors, identified by bibliographic and field surveys, were ordered by Pressures, State, Benefits, and Responses categories following the guidance of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership. Furthermore, the linked relationships among the indicators were identified for effective monitoring of biodiversity in Xuan Thuy National Park. Dựa trên các chỉ thị được gợi ý từ Công ước về Đa dạng sinh học, các chỉ thị đa dạng sinh học phục vụ công tác bảo tồn các hệ sinh thái rừng ngập mặn của Vườn Quốc gia Xuân Thủy đã được xây dựng, có tính đến các yếu tố môi trường, sinh học và con người. Các yếu tố môi trường, sinh học và con người có liên quan, được xác định bằng việc tổng hợp và đánh giá các tài liệu và các đợt điều tra ngoài thực địa, dưới trật tự các nhóm Áp lực, Tình trạng, Lợi ích và Đáp ứng theo hướng dẫn của Đối tác chỉ thị đa dạng sinh học. Hơn thế nữa, các mối quan hệ liên kết giữa các chỉ thị đã được xác định nhằm quan trắc hiệu quả đa dạng sinh học ở Vườn Quốc gia Xuân Thủy.

scholarly journals Evaluating the progress and needs of taxonomy since the Convention on Biological Diversity: going beyond the rate of species description

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Tancoigne ◽  
Guillaume Ollivier
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Species Description ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Small Scales ◽  
Quantitative Indicators ◽  
Quantitative Evaluations ◽  
The Way

There is a long tradition of assessing the activity and progress of taxonomy with quantitative indicators, such as, for example, number of taxonomists, species described and species collected. These evaluations play a key role in the context of a worldwide concern over biodiversity and its governance. We have described and analysed these evaluations since 1992, the year in which the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted. We showed that despite the establishment of a dedicated body inside the CBD (the Global Taxonomy Initiative), these quantitative evaluations are mostly sporadic and independent initiatives, performed by non-taxonomists. They do not map the places where most of the taxonomic activities take place, and they are performed on small scales, with scarce and heterogeneous sources of data, making comparisons almost impossible. Most of the indicators they use refer to the activity of species description. We argue that there is a need to rethink the way we evaluate taxonomy today and we discuss why it is urgent to move beyond indicators of species description. We suggest the use of a new set of indicators that would focus on taxonomic resources and dynamics, instead of taxonomic outputs.

scholarly journals Neutral theory exposes the challenge of bending the curve of biodiversity loss for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falko Buschke
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Neutral Theory ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Indicators ◽  
Geographical Patterns ◽  
20Th Anniversary ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Ecological Drift

In May, nations of the world will meet to negotiate the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. An influential ambition is “bending the curve of biodiversity loss”, which aims to reverse the decline of global biodiversity indicators. A second relevant, yet less prominent, milestone is the 20th anniversary of the publication of The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Here, I apply neutral theory to show how global biodiversity indicators for population size (Living Planet Index) and extinction threat (Red List Index) decline under neutral ecological drift. This demonstrates that declining indicators alone do not necessarily reflect deterministic species-specific or geographical patterns of biodiversity loss. Thus, “bending the curve” could be assessed relative to a counterfactual based on neutral theory, rather than static baselines. If used correctly, the 20-year legacy of neutral theory can be extended to make a valuable contribution to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

scholarly journals On the potential policy use of some selected biodiversity indicators: limitations and recommendations for improvements

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 84-88
Author(s):  
Z. Benedek
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Indicators ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Long Run ◽  
And Performance

In order to facilitate the use of biodiversity indicators in policy making at the country level, a few and well-established indices should be suggested. Promising candidates include biodiversity-related indices of the Convention on Biological Diversity; their current use and performance are evaluated through a Hungarian case study. Especially indices of the ecosystem level have already been in use, but they are not necessarily useful measures of the state of biodiversity in their current form. For example, ecosystems suggested globally for monitoring (forests and marine habitats) are not present in all the countries, thus the way of ecosystem selection should be standardized, not the actual ecosystem types. Besides the information on the extent of some selected habitats, the original cover should also be considered to evaluate the present situation. Recommendations are demonstrated in the case study. With the use of existing data, the applicability of certain indices can be improved, but in the long run, ecosystem-based indices of the natural capital should be favoured.  

scholarly journals Assets and Liabilities:

2013 ◽  
pp. 87-96
Author(s):  
Dave Aplin
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Royal Botanic Garden ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Botanic Gardens ◽  
Botanic Garden ◽  
The World ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
National Botanic Garden ◽  
Over Time

The living collections of botanic gardens can be described as dynamic, varying over time to suit the demands of the institute. The majority of gardens throughout the world have insufficient resources to maintain ever-increasing collections. In order to keep collections meaningful to research and conservation activities and to distribute plant material in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) they need to be carefully directed; a mechanism to facilitate this is the process of evaluation. Evaluation is the periodic assessment of part of the collection to determine whether it remains fit for purpose. If a garden’s aim is to strive at improving the potential usefulness of its holdings then evaluation should be omnipresent.This paper outlines the necessity for evaluation and suggests tried and tested procedures to conduct such analyses. Examples from evaluations carried out at the Royal Botanic Garden, Jordan and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium (NBGB) are cited to illustrate the value of the process.

scholarly journals Challenging the State: Devolutionary Tenure Transitions for Saving and Expanding Forests

Human Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Alden Wily
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Property Relations ◽  
The Will ◽  
Customary Land

AbstractI address a contentious element in forest property relations to illustrate the role of ownership in protecting and expanding of forest cover by examining the extent to which rural communities may legally own forests. The premise is that whilst state-owned protected areas have contributed enormously to forest survival, this has been insufficiently successful to justify the mass dispossession of customary land-owning communities this has entailed. Further, I argue that state co-option of community lands is unwarranted. Rural communities on all continents ably demonstrate the will and capacity to conserve forests – provided their customary ownership is legally recognized. I explore the property rights reforms now enabling this. The replication potential of community protected forestlands is great enough to deserve flagship status in global commitments to expand forest including in the upcoming new Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

scholarly journals A global database of diversified farming effects on biodiversity and yield

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. Jones ◽  
Andrea C. Sánchez ◽  
Stella D. Juventia ◽  
Natalia Estrada-Carmona
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Global Database ◽  
Diversified Farming Systems

AbstractWith the Convention on Biological Diversity conference (COP15), United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and United Nations Food Systems Summit, 2021 is a pivotal year for transitioning towards sustainable food systems. Diversified farming systems are key to more sustainable food production. Here we present a global dataset documenting outcomes of diversified farming practices for biodiversity and yields compiled following best standards for systematic review of primary studies and specifically designed for use in meta-analysis. The dataset includes 4076 comparisons of biodiversity outcomes and 1214 of yield in diversified farming systems compared to one of two reference systems. It contains evidence from 48 countries of effects on species from 33 taxonomic orders (spanning insects, plants, birds, mammals, eukaryotes, annelids, fungi, and bacteria) of diversified farming systems producing annual or perennial crops across 12 commodity groups. The dataset presented provides a resource for researchers and practitioners to easily access information on where diversified farming systems effectively contribute to biodiversity and food production outcomes.

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