The Why, What, and How of Global Biodiversity Indicators Beyond the 2010 Target

The 2010 biodiversity target agreed by signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity directed the attention of conservation professionals toward the development of indicators with which to measure changes in biological diversity at the global scale. We considered why global biodiversity indicators are needed, what characteristics successful global indicators have, and how existing indicators perform. Because monitoring could absorb a large proportion of funds available for conservation, we believe indicators should be linked explicitly to monitoring objectives and decisions about which monitoring schemes deserve funding should be informed by predictions of the value of such schemes to decision making. We suggest that raising awareness among the public and policy makers, auditing management actions, and informing policy choices are the most important global monitoring objectives. Using four well-developed indicators of biological diversity (extent of forests, coverage of protected areas, Living Planet Index, Red List Index) as examples, we analyzed the characteristics needed for indicators to meet these objectives. We recommend that conservation professionals improve on existing indicators by eliminating spatial biases in data availability, fill gaps in information about ecosystems other than forests, and improve understanding of the way indicators respond to policy changes. Monitoring is not an end in itself, and we believe it is vital that the ultimate objectives of global monitoring of biological diversity inform development of new indicators. La meta 2010 de biodiversidad acordada por los signatarios de la Convención de Diversidad Biológica atrajo la atención de los profesionales de la conservación hacia el desarrollo de indicadores para medir los cambios en la diversidad biológica a escala global. Consideramos porqué se requieren indicadores globales de biodiversidad, qué características tienen los indicadores globales y cómo funcionan los indicadores existentes. Debido a que el monitoreo podría absorber una gran proporción de fondos disponibles para la conservación, consideramos que los indicadores deberían estar ligados explícitamente con los objetivos de monitoreo y que las decisiones sobre los planes de monitoreo merecedores de financiamiento deberían estar informadas por predicciones de tales planes para la toma de decisiones. Sugerimos que el incremento de la percepción del público y los tomadores de decisiones, la auditoría a las accione