TY - JOUR
T1 - Bridging the gap between biodiversity data and policy reporting needs
T2 - An Essential Biodiversity Variables perspective
AU - Geijzendorffer, Ilse R.
AU - Regan, Eugenie C.
AU - Pereira, Henrique M.
AU - Brotons, Lluis
AU - Brummitt, Neil
AU - Gavish, Yoni
AU - Haase, Peter
AU - Martin, Corinne S.
AU - Mihoub, Jean Baptiste
AU - Secades, Cristina
AU - Schmeller, Dirk S.
AU - Stoll, Stefan
AU - Wetzel, Florian T.
AU - Walters, Michele
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Political commitment and policy instruments to halt biodiversity loss require robust data and a diverse indicator set to monitor and report on biodiversity trends. Gaps in data availability and narrow-based indicator sets are significant information barriers to fulfilling these needs. In this paper, the reporting requirements of seven global or European biodiversity policy instruments were reviewed using the list of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) as an analytical framework. The reporting requirements for the most comprehensive policy instrument, the United Nation's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, were compared with the indicator set actually used for its reporting, to identify current information gaps. To explore the extent to which identified gaps could be bridged, the potential contribution of data mobilization, modelling and further processing of existing data was assessed. The information gaps identified demonstrate that decision-makers are currently constrained by the lack of data and indicators on changes in the EBV classes Genetic Composition and, to a lesser extent, Species Populations for which data is most often available. Furthermore, the results show that even when there is a requirement for specific information for reporting, the indicators used may not be able to provide all the information, for example current Convention of Biological Diversity indicators provide relatively little information on changes in the Ecosystem Function and Ecosystem Structure classes. This gap could be partly closed by using existing indicators as proxies, whereas additional indicators may be computed based on available data (e.g. for EBVs in the Ecosystem Structure class). However, for the EBV class Genetic Composition, no immediate improvement based on proxies or existing data seems possible. Synthesis and applications. Using Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) as a tool, theory-driven comparisons could be made between the biodiversity information gaps in reporting and indicator sets. Analytical properties, such as an identification of which data and indicator(s) are relevant per EBV, will need to be addressed before EBVs can actually become operational and facilitate the integration of data flows for monitoring and reporting. In the meantime, a first analysis shows that existing indicators and available data offer considerable potential for bridging the identified information gaps.
AB - Political commitment and policy instruments to halt biodiversity loss require robust data and a diverse indicator set to monitor and report on biodiversity trends. Gaps in data availability and narrow-based indicator sets are significant information barriers to fulfilling these needs. In this paper, the reporting requirements of seven global or European biodiversity policy instruments were reviewed using the list of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) as an analytical framework. The reporting requirements for the most comprehensive policy instrument, the United Nation's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, were compared with the indicator set actually used for its reporting, to identify current information gaps. To explore the extent to which identified gaps could be bridged, the potential contribution of data mobilization, modelling and further processing of existing data was assessed. The information gaps identified demonstrate that decision-makers are currently constrained by the lack of data and indicators on changes in the EBV classes Genetic Composition and, to a lesser extent, Species Populations for which data is most often available. Furthermore, the results show that even when there is a requirement for specific information for reporting, the indicators used may not be able to provide all the information, for example current Convention of Biological Diversity indicators provide relatively little information on changes in the Ecosystem Function and Ecosystem Structure classes. This gap could be partly closed by using existing indicators as proxies, whereas additional indicators may be computed based on available data (e.g. for EBVs in the Ecosystem Structure class). However, for the EBV class Genetic Composition, no immediate improvement based on proxies or existing data seems possible. Synthesis and applications. Using Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) as a tool, theory-driven comparisons could be made between the biodiversity information gaps in reporting and indicator sets. Analytical properties, such as an identification of which data and indicator(s) are relevant per EBV, will need to be addressed before EBVs can actually become operational and facilitate the integration of data flows for monitoring and reporting. In the meantime, a first analysis shows that existing indicators and available data offer considerable potential for bridging the identified information gaps.
KW - Biodiversity indicator partnership
KW - Convention on biological diversity
KW - biodiversity data
KW - data mobilization
KW - data sources
KW - indicators
KW - instrument
KW - monitoring
KW - policy
KW - reporting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84987749855&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1365-2664.12417
DO - 10.1111/1365-2664.12417
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84987749855
SN - 0021-8901
VL - 53
SP - 1341
EP - 1350
JO - Journal of Applied Ecology
JF - Journal of Applied Ecology
IS - 5
ER -