Monitoring
and indicators: designing national-level monitoring
programmes and indicators
The Conference of the Parties
1.
Welcomes the progress made by the ninth meeting of SBSTTA on
monitoring and indicators;
2.
Notes the indicators already in use by Parties and ongoing
regional and biome-related initiatives and cooperation, as reported
in annex I to the note by the Executive Secretary on designing
national-level monitoring programmes and indicators prepared for
the ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical
and Technological Advice (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/10), and
welcomes the ongoing efforts on the development of
biodiversity indicators within the various thematic programmes and
cross-cutting themes of the Convention;
3.
Also welcomes the report prepared by the expert meeting on
indicators of biological diversity including indicators for rapid
assessment of inland water ecosystems
(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/7);
4. Expresses its
gratitude to the Government of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern its financial support for the expert meeting on
indicators of biological diversity, the
co-chairs and all the experts for their contributions to the
meeting;
5.
Notes and encourages the increased collaboration
between the Convention on Biological Diversity and other
conventions and organizations in facilitating the development of
national-level indicators and monitoring programmes that Parties
may draw upon if they so wish as well as the development of global
indicators on biodiversity;
6.
Requests the Executive Secretary to continue collaborating
with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
the organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the
European Environment Agency, and other relevant international and
regional organizations and initiatives on the further development
and consolidation of indicators relevant to the 2010 target in
accordance with decision VII/30 and the thematic programmes of work
of the Convention;
7.
Recognizes that regional and national differences and
different national priorities on the conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity necessitates a flexible approach at the
national level but that there are benefits in promoting a more
consistent framework for data gathering, computation and reporting
that can contribute to the development of commonly agreed
indicators at regional and global levels;
8.
Urges all Parties that have not done so to develop a set of
biodiversity indicators as part of their national strategies and
action plans, taking into account, as appropriate, the targets of
the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the target to
achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of
biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level, as
well as the guidance, lessons learned and list of indicators
provided in the note by the Executive Secretary prepared for the
ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and
Technological Advice (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/10) document, and to report
on progress to the Conference of the Parties at its eighth
meeting;
9.
Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant
organizations to make use of biodiversity indicators in their
assessment of biodiversity, in particular in their assessment of
progress towards the achievement of globally agreed targets such as
those of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, the Strategic
Plan of the Convention, the Plan of Implementation of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development and the Millennium Development
Goals;
10.
Agrees that the framework contained in annex II to the note
by the Executive Secretary (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/10) provides useful
guidance for the development of national-level biodiversity
indicators and monitoring, emphasizing the use of existing national
data, indicators and evaluation methods in a participatory and
accessible approach;
11.
Recognizes that the development and use of indicators,
particularly in the development phase, requires a financial and
technical commitment from Parties, and therefore encourages
bi-lateral and multilateral funding agencies to assist developing
countries, in particular the least developed and small island
developing States among them, and countries with economies in
transition through the provision of financial assistance and
training, as required and as appropriate, to develop and implement
effective biodiversity indicators;
12.
Acknowledges that the project funded by the Global
Environment Facility on biodiversity indicators in national use,
might illustrate how each step proposed in the guidelines for
indicator development contained in this document could be carried
out in practice and thereby provides lessons on the practical
development of biodiversity indicators;
13.
Encourages Parties to share experience in the development and
use of indicators and monitoring and to cooperate and promote,
where useful, harmonized procedures and formats for data
acquisition, computation and reporting, especially at subregional
and regional levels;
14.
Requests the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention to
develop an effective system of information-sharing on lessons
learned on the development of national-level biodiversity
indicators and monitoring, including through the
presentation of worked examples and case-studies;
15.
Requests the Executive Secretary to further develop the
identification, development and testing of indicators based on
accrued experience and making particular efforts on indicators:
(i) concerning the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits
arising out of the utilization of genetic resources; and (ii) on
the status and trends of biodiversity at the genetic level, taking
into account the ongoing work of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Plant
Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), the organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other relevant
organizations, and invites him to report on progress for the
ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
16. Also
requests the Executive Secretary to identify, and bring to the
attention of Parties, areas with potential for better coordination
and integration, as applicable, between sets of indicators prepared
within the various programmes of work and cross-cutting themes of
the Convention to avoid duplication of efforts in developing
indicators, data-gathering and reporting, particularly at the
national level;
17.
Further requests the Executive Secretary to update, complete and make
available, through the clearing-house mechanism and other
appropriate means, the indicative list of indicator initiatives and
sources of information contained in appendix 2 to annex II to the
note by the Executive Secretary (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/10).
