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A Policy PerspectiveAligning indicators to strategies and targets
Dr Sarah WebsterHead of UK Biodiversity Policy Unit
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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 2020
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At a range of scales…
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… Indicators contribute to reporting against these targets
International European UK 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
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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
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Reporting at the international scale…
• 5th 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
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How indicators helped…
• 25 UK Indicators have been mapped to the 5 Strategic Goals of the CBD
• Enabled more streamlined reporting
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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”
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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
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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
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Using indicators for reporting…
• Proxies may be needed if direct measures are unavailable
• Relatively simple indicators are easier to communicate and have more impact
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• Proliferation of indicators is not helpful• To reflect on policy intervention we need to report
over a relatively short time period
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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
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We need three key things…
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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!
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