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

Part of: Multi-dimensionality of the biodiversity crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2019

Rashi Bhatt ,
Michael J. Gill ,
Healy Hamilton ,
Xuemei Han ,
Ellie Linden  and
Bruce E. Young Open the ORCID record for Bruce E. Young [Opens in a new window]
Rashi Bhatt
Affiliation:
NatureServe, 2550 South Clark Street, Suite 930, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Michael J. Gill
Affiliation:
NatureServe, 2550 South Clark Street, Suite 930, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Healy Hamilton
Affiliation:
NatureServe, 2550 South Clark Street, Suite 930, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Xuemei Han
Affiliation:
NatureServe, 2550 South Clark Street, Suite 930, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Ellie Linden
Affiliation:
NatureServe, 2550 South Clark Street, Suite 930, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Bruce E. Young*
Affiliation:
NatureServe, 2550 South Clark Street, Suite 930, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Bruce E. Young, Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Indicators 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.

Keywords

national indicatorsAichi Biodiversity Targetsbiodiversity indicatorsConvention on Biological DiversityStrategic Goals5th National Reportsglobal indicators
Type
Research Paper
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 47 , Issue 1: Thematic Section: Bringing Species and Ecosystems Together with Remote Sensing Tools to Develop New Biodiversity Metrics and Indicators , March 2020 , pp. 15 - 21
Copyright
© Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2019 

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Footnotes

†

This article was originally published with incorrect author information. This has since been updated in the online PDF and HTML versions on 30 Dec 2021.

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