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Datasets, Tools & Reports

Biodiversity Trends and Threats in Europe - Can We Apply a Generic Biodiversity Indicator to Forests? »

At the 9th meeting of the SBSTTA of the CBD a recommendation was made to begin testing of five biodiversity indicators in order to measure progress towards the 2010 target. This paper considers one of these indicators for Pan-Europe. The basic principle of the index is to calculate the average trend in abundance of a set of ecosystem-representative species. The index is considered to be generic, i.e. applicable to all ecosystem types including forests. It can produce both headline messages for high-level policy and communication, and detailed information for in-depth analysis. This paper describes the conceptual framework of the index and explores the data availability for the index in Pan-Europe.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
Forest Biodiversity Indicators. Tools for Policy-making and Management »

This is a brief introduction to biodiversity indicators in a forest environment - their definition, source, presentation and uses.
Resource Type: Reports
Bamboo diversity: the need for a Red List review »

This review focuses on woody bamboos with the highest diversity recorded in the Asia-Pacific region where bamboos play a major role in ecosystem dynamics in many forests.
The genetic diversity of the remaining forest bamboos, of which many are highly susceptible to deforestation, is of great concern and an accurate information base is required as a foundation for policy and management decisions affecting bamboo. A programme to strengthen the Red List assessments of bamboo species status is also needed, one that prioritizes the assessment of species with the smallest estimated geographical ranges and least remaining habitat.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
Guidance for National Biodiversity Indicator Development and Use »

This guidance is designed to help the development of biodiversity indicators at the national level for uses such as reporting, policy-making, environmental management, and education. It is intended principally for the people who produce biodiversity indicators, whether they are in government agencies, academia or NGOs. In some cases biodiversity indicators are developed on a ‘one-off’ basis to meet the needs for a particular study or report, or they can be developed for long-term reporting and decision-making. This guidance can be used for both situations.
Resource Type: Reports
Global Biodiversity: Indicators of Recent Declines »

In 2002, world leaders committed, through the Convention on Biological Diversity, to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. We compiled 31 indicators to report on progress toward this target. Most indicators of the state of biodiversity (covering species’ population trends, extinction risk, habitat extent and condition, and community composition) showed declines, with no significant recent reductions in rate, whereas indicators of pressures on biodiversity (including resource consumption, invasive alien species, nitrogen pollution, overexploitation, and climate change impacts) showed increases. Despite some local successes and increasing responses (including extent and biodiversity coverage of protected areas, sustainable forest management, policy responses to invasive alien species, and biodiversity-related aid), the rate of biodiversity loss does not appear to be slowing.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
The Living Planet Index: using species population time series to track trends in biodiversity »

The Living Planet Index was developed to measure the changing state of the world's biodiversity over time. It uses time series data to calculate average rates of change in a large number of populations of terrestrial, freshwater and marine vertebrate species. The dataset contains about 3,000 population time series for over 1,100 species. Two methods of calculating the index are outlined: the chain method and a method based on linear modelling of log-transformed data.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
IUCN Red List Index: Guidance for national and regional use »

This guidance document to support national and regional use of the IUCN Red List Index is a product of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. It has been developed by IUCN and its partner organizations. Support for the production of this document has been provided by the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (www.twentyten.net).
Resource Type: Reports
Capturing the Many Dimensions of Threat: Comment on Salafsky et al. »

The causes of biodiversity loss are complex, so it is easy for the ways conservationists classify them to be misinterpreted. We therefore congratulate Salafsky and colleagues (2008) for their pioneering lexicon, intended to steer us through the morass of overlapping nomenclatures, terminologies, and typologies that our community uses to describe the threats biodiversity faces and the actions we carry out to address them. We have designed classification schemes that parallel their proposed global systems as part of a project in which over 30 conservation organizations and university research groups belonging to the Cambridge Conservation Forum (CCF) developed standardized tools for measuring the success of conservation interventions (Kapos et al. 2008, 2009). Although interactions between the two projects resulted in our schemes for classifying conservation actions converging, we disagree with the International Union for Conservation of Nature–Conservation Measures Partnership (IUCN–CMP) scheme for classifying threats.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
Crossroads of Life on Earth - Exploring means to meet the 2010 Biodiversity Target »

The aim of this assessment study was to explore policy options under current discussion in the global political arena that could have major positive or negative impacts on biodiversity. The central concern of the assessment is the achievement of the 2010 Biodiversity Target at global and regional levels, as agreed upon under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Resource Type: Reports
Indicator(s) on the Health & Well-being of Communities Directly Dependent on Local Ecosystems: Progress Report »

All humans rely on the provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services of ecosystems for survival and well-being. This project aims to develop indicators of the health and well-being of communities who are directly dependent on local ecosystems.

Resource Type: Reports