Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash.

As governments convene to discuss the new global goals for nature, UNEP-WCMC is launching a new Post-2020 Indicators website to support the ongoing negotiation process, in collaboration with the Secretariat to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), NatureServe and GEO BON.

This week, the CBD Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) is starting its discussions on the first draft of post-2020 global biodiversity framework and its ambitions for nature. Underpinning this framework will be a transparent monitoring mechanism to understand progress towards its global ambitions. The Post-2020 Indicators site aims to facilitate and inform discussion on measurable goals and targets. 

The first draft of the framework was published last month, proposing four long-term goals to be reached by 2050 and related milestones for which progress will be assessed in 2030. The draft framework also includes 21 action-oriented targets, aiming to catalyse urgent national action to conserve nature and the essential benefits it provides to people.

New Post-2020 Indicators site supports negotiations for the monitoring framework 

The Post-2020 Indicators site is a knowledge hub providing those negotiating the new framework with the best and most up to date information available on nature indicators in order to aid decision-making and negotiation. 

“The site gives an overview of available data and metrics to allow all nations - and the world - to measure progress towards ambitions for biodiversity over the coming decade,” says Neil Burgess, Chief Scientist at UNEP-WCMC. 

Post-2020 Indicators provides information for negotiators and others to understand:

• Whether information on the proposed indicators is readily available or in need of investment/ development 
• The institutional responsibilities for delivering the indicator 
• Their global range 
• The extent to which information is compiled from national sources 
• How frequently data underpinning the indicators are updated 
• The time series for the data 

Other information includes the use of indicators by other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), their inclusion in CBD national reports, and whether indicators meet the standards of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) or are used as Essential biodiversity Variables by GEO BON.

Achieving “living in harmony with nature” by 2050

The post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is on track to be adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP) during their fifteenth meeting in Kunming, China. It is vital that countries decide on the approach to monitor progress towards the global framework at the outset, so that measurement can begin as soon the post-2020 framework is adopted by countries worldwide.

The Framework is a crucial document which governments and civil society will refer to in the next decades to bend the curve of biodiversity loss, drive its recovery, and consequently contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

Neville Ash, Director of UNEP-WCMC, says: “Delivering on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework is key to our future on Earth. In order for the world to meet future ambitions for nature we will need to be able to monitor our collective progress. The Post-2020 Indicator site is a key source of information to support decisions on measurable goals and targets and how we can track our progress towards them.”