The BIP has worked as part of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) project to show the feasibility of establishing linkages between different types of indicators to provide decision-makers with the tools they need to tackle biodiversity loss effectively. The most recent output is an article in the journal Orynx.

 The Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Indicators for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 took place from 20 to 24 June 2011 in High Wycombe, UK. The objectives of the AHTEG included the provision of advice and guidance on the development of an indicator suite for assessing progress towards the Aichi targets. A number of BIP partners participated in the AHTEG and also the International Expert Workshop in support of the workshop which was held in parallel and served as a resource for the AHTEG.  The report from the AHTEG is now available and includes 13 recommendations on indicators which will be reviewed at CBD SBSTTA 15 in November. 

 The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has released anew report Developing Ecosystem Service Indicators: experiences and lessons learned from sub-global assessments and other initiatives, which has been published in the CBD Technical Series. The report was produced in collaboration with the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership.

 An International Expert Workshop in support of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Indicators for Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 will be held from 20 -22 June 2011 in High Wycombe, UK. The workshop will run in parallel to the AHTEG (20–26 June), providing the opportunity for indicator specialists to convene and develop a full range of views to support the AHTEG process. 

The BIP Partners have been heavily involved in the preparation of background documents for the expert workshop and AHTEG including a document on observation adequacy (convened by GEO-BON) and a review of national capacity (led by UNEP-WCMC). BIP partners will also be participating in expert workshop and AHTEG enabling them to share their experiences in indicator development and views on a revised indicator suite for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity.

A new report reviewing the development and use of biodiversity indicators at a national level and regional level is now available. The report is produced by UNEP-WCMC with IUCN and ECNC, and was commissioned by the UK Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in support of the CBD AHTEG on Indicators for the Strategic Plan 2011-2020. The report reviews the experience and constraints for the development of indicators for the previous CBD Strategic Plan (2002-2010) at national and regional levels, and provides recommendations for assessment and reporting of the Aichi Targets for 2020 agreed at CBD COP10.

The CBD Secretariat has been running a series of regional workshops in order to facilitate the revision of Parties’ National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) in line with the 2011-2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. The BIP Secretariat has been assisting the SCBD with the workshops, namely providing guidance on the development and use of indicators in national target setting and NBSAP enhancement. 

 The 2010 BIP was referenced eight times in the official decisions finally adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in the early hours of the 30th October.  The many references are testament to work of the Partnership in delivering high quality biodiversity information in the run up to COP 10.  This is particularly evident in two decisions which express appreciation to the Partnership for its contributions to the global biodiversity community.  The majority of references however correspond to the 2010 BIP assisting with implementation of the CBD post-2010. This is a great result for the Partnership, demonstrating will from CBD Parties for the continuation of the BIP.

The first day of CBD COP 10 was extremely eventful for the 2010 BIP with the hosting of the side event;   Lessons learnt from tracking the current target, and next steps for post-2010. The well attended event included representatives from national delegations, UN agencies, IGOs, NGOS and research institutes. The event was kindly chaired by Leon Bennun of BirdLife International. Damon Stanwell-Smith, project coordinator of the 2010 BIP opened that event by providing an overview of the Partnership.

 The fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity  (CBD COP 10) will take place from the18 -  29  October 2010, in Nagoya, Japan. The meeting provides an opportunity for Parties to come together to review and adopt decisions which were drafted at CBD SBSTTA 14 in May. Up for consideration and adoption by the Parties is a revised and updated Strategic Plan including a revised Biodiversity target, as well as a multi-year programme of work for the period 2011-2012.

The 2010 BIP Secretariat and Partners will be present at the COP to both create awareness of the Partnership and monitor recommendations on post 2010 targets and indicators.

The new 2010 BIP and UNEP-WCMC publication, 'Biodiversity Indicators Capacity Strengthening: experiences from Africa', presents many of the results, lessons learnt and recommendations from the Biodiversity Indicators Capacity Strenthening in Africa project. The project worked with 13 countries from eastern and southern Africa to assist in the development of national biodiversity indicators on a sustainable basis. 

The 2010 BIP is proud to present its new publication, ‘Guidance for National Biodiversity Indicator Development and Use’, the result of ideas and experiences developed and tested in capacity building workshops for over 45 countries.

A recent news article in Science, Journalist Erik Stokstad utilizes 2010 BIP indicators to report on potential major modifications to CBD targets up for negotiation at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The meeting, to be held in October in Nagoya, Japan will adopt a new Strategic Plan. The draft up for adoption includes 20 new headline targets for 2020, organized under five strategic goals

In the most comprehensive assessment of its kind, 5,167 African freshwater species were evaluation by 200 scientists over a five-year period for the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM, including all known freshwater fish, molluscs, crabs, dragonflies and damselflies, and selected families of aquatic plants. This is of particular relevance to the Red List Index which utilizes Red List Assessments to show changes in the overall extinction risk of sets of species. These new assessments will increase the data available for the global indicator and will in time ensure African species are more adequately represented.

The third biennial EcoHealth conference was held on the 18-20 August 2010 at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The conference entitled, “Global ecohealth challenges; multiple perspectives”, was designed to cover the major challenges facing people, wildlife and ecosystems internationally at the end of the 21st Century The 2010 BIP was invited to the event to host a symposium on biodiversity indicators which demonstrate the important linkages between human and environmental health. The symposium highlighted a number of the indicators developed by the Partnership, including the newly developed ‘Health & well-being of communities directly dependent on local ecosystem goods & services’ indicator.

The 2010 BIP hosted its third and final side event at CBD SBSTTA and WGRI on the 25th May. This side event supported discussions under Agenda Item 5.1 of WGRI and provided the opportunity to highlight lessons learnt from the 2010 BIP and discuss the relevant outcomes of SBSTTA 14. The side event was kindly chaired by Leon Bennun of BirdLife International. 

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The 2010 BIP has been extremely successful in raising its profile during the first week of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (CBD SBSTTA 14). The week started with the launch of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) the flagship publication of the CBD. The 2010 BIP was acknowledged for its significant contribution to the report, in particular the ‘Biodiversity in 2010’ chapter.

The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010 BIP) hosted the second of its three side events at CBD SBSTTA 14 and WGRI 3 on the 12 May. The side event focussed on  global indicator development and was entitled 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership: Lessons learnt from the current process, and recommendations for post-2010. The well attended event, jointly organized by the 2010 BIP and CBD Secretariat consisted of 5 short presentations.

The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership hosted the first of its three side events at CBD SBSTTA 14 and WGRI 3 on the 11 May.  The side event entitled National Biodiversity Indicators: African Examples and Needs, was run in collaboration with the Convention on Biological Resources, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Kenya Wildlife Service and the South Africa National Biodiversity Institute. The event provided an opportunity to present work from the United Nations Development Account project, Biodiversity Indicators Capacity Strengthening in Africa, lead by the 2010 BIP and UNEP-WCMC.

Today marks the launch of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3). This much anticipated flagship publication of the CBD is the product of close collaboration between the Secretariat of the CBD and the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre. The Outlook, an assessment of the current state of biodiversity, is being launched simultaneously in a multitude of cities across the globe. The UK launch is co-ordinated by UNEP-WCMC in partnership with the Zoological Society of London.

The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, coordinated by UNEP-WCMC, played a critical role in the production of the Outlook by providing indicator results and content for the ‘Biodiversity in 2010’ chapter.  This confirms that the world has failed to meet its target to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010

World leaders have failed to deliver commitments made in 2002 to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss, and have instead overseen alarming biodiversity declines. These finding are the result of a new 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010 BIP) paper published in leading journal Science and represent the first assessment of how targets made through the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have not been met.

Compiling over 30 indicators – measures of different aspects of biodiversity, including changes in species’ populations and risk of extinction, habitat extent and community composition – the 2010 BIP found no evidence for a significant reduction in the rate of decline of biodiversity, and that the pressures facing biodiversity continue to increase. The synthesis provides overwhelming evidence that the 2010 target has not been achieved.

 The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade Endangered Species (CITES) took place in Doha, Qatar, from 13 to 25 March 2010. As well as reviewing decisions on trade rules for plant and animal species, parties were invited to vote on strategic matters concerning the Convention.

A draft resolution was put forward by the CITES Secretariat on synergy with biodiversity -related international initiatives. The resolution highlighted the need for continued engagement with the 2010 BIP and a draft decision was put forward for continued support to the Partnership. The decision was later accepted by consensus.

Since 1993, the Trondheim Conferences have provided a platform for policy makers, managers and scientists to come together to consider the key issues being discussed under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Conferences, a collaboration between the Secretariat of the CBD, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Norwegian government, are held every 3-4 years in Trondheim, Norway. The sixth Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity (1 – 5 February 2010) brought together over 300 participants from 100 countries. The 2010 BIP was repeatedly referred to throughout the conference.

 Today is World Wetlands Day (WWD). This year’s theme, ‘Caring for wetlands – an answer to climate change’, is an issue of particular relevance in 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. Wetlands are particularly vulnerable to threats such as climate change. The third Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) to be released by the CBD Secretariat in May 2010, will also confirm that they are amongst the most threatened ecosystems. WWD is of particular relevance to the 2010 BIP.

The Red List Index (RLI) forms part of the CBD indicator suite developed to monitor biodiversity trends and assess progress towards the 2010 Biodiversity Target. The RLI, initially designed as a global indicator, utilizes Red List Assessments to show changes in the overall extinction risk of sets of species. The 2010 BIP and BirdLife International have worked together to produce the 'Red List Index Calculator'. This simple tool enables Red List data to be used to automatically generate RLIs. The calculator is particularly useful for countries or regions looking to produce their own own indices of extinction risk.

A publication on the 2010 BIP indicator, Trends on Invasive Alien Species has for the first time highlighted the status and impact of invasive alien species.  The publication “Global indicators of biological invasion: species numbers, biodiversity impact and policy responses”, looked at 57 countries and found that, on average, there are 50 non-indigenous species per country which have a negative impact on biodiversity.

The new website for the International Year of Biodiversity (www.cbd.int/2010) was officially launched on the 10th November at an opening ceremony in Montreal. More than 500 participants were present at the ceremony, representing the 193 Parties to the Convention and partner organizations. The 2010 BIP is an official Partner of the IYB, and has been acknowledged for its support on the new IYB website.

Japan has marked the one year countdown to the start of the tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10), which will be held in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010. To mark this occasion the COP 10 logo and slogan was launched at the Ministry of the Environment in Tokyo.

A workshop convened by the CBD Secretariat and UNEP-WCMC, has proven vital in initiating the process of making recommendations for the post-2010 indicators ahead of CBD COP 10. The report from the post-2010 indicators workshop held in July in Reading, UK is now available.

The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day.  Although designated to reflect on the state of our towns and cities. The theme of this year’s day, Planning our Urban Future, is especially relevant to the world’s biodiversity. Development and urban sprawl pose serious threats to biodiversity, with dramatic consequences for ecosystem services, such as water and food availability.

To mark the importance of this day a message has been published by Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

As part of its ongoing awareness raising efforts, the 2010 BIP is actively working to communicate links between the Partnership’s work and other multilateral environmental agreements.

Representatives of both partners and the secretariat of the 2010 BIP were invited to the ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 9) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.   The event provided opportunities to promote the 2010 BIP by highlighting a process that the Convention may wish to emulate, and to encourage the Secretariat and Parties of the Convention to work with the Partnership.

More investment in biodiversity indicators is needed, if the world’s Governments are to understand how their actions and policies are impacting the planet’s species and ecosystems. This is conclusion of article published in Science today in which the CBD biodiversity indicator suite is reviewed.

Countdown 2010 re-launched its new website on 14 July 2009. All sections have been completely re-structured to improve navigability and ensure maximum accessibility to information.  The new website includes features such as ‘Featured Partners’, and sections dedicated to the upcoming International Year of Biodiversity and the new Biodiversity Target after 2010.

The European Environment Agency has launched a new technical report, containing individual assessments for each of the 26 SEBI 2010 biiodiversity indicators. The detailed assessments in this new report underpin the analysis, synthesis and policy implications contained in EEA Report 04/2009, entitled ‘Progress towards the European 2010 biodiversity target’.

 The results of the 2009 2010 BIP User Needs Survey are now available to view online. The User Needs Survey generated global interest, with 398 respondents from 87 countries taking part. The  Survey provided an opportunity for the Partnership to gain public opinion on both the usability of the 2010 BIP as well as suggested improvements. Review of the responses has lead to the generation of a number of action points for the 2010 BIP which will help to improve the delivery of the biodiversity indicators over the next year in the run up to the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10).

The Zoological Society of London launched its new ‘National Red Lists’ website (www.nationalredlist.org) on the 19th June 2009. Global assessments of the conservation status of species are regularly undertaken and incorporated into the IUCN Red List Index of Threatened Species. However, Nations often produce their own Red Lists using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria to provide information more relevant to national conservation priorities and decision making. Until now, these national and regional Red Lists existed as separate entities. The new National Red List website brings these assessments together in a centralised location, and users can search the database to assess assessments by nation, region, species or threat criteria.

On the 18-19th June 2009, two partners of the 2010 BIP, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Wildlife Conservation Society came together to host a Symposium entitled ‘Biodiversity monitoring and conservation: Bridging the gaps between global commitment and local action’ at ZSL offices, Regent’s Park, London. The symposium aimed to provide a synopsis of the best current thinking on how to measure biodiversity loss and how to ensure monitoring has real impacts on conservation. There was a focus on indicators used to measure biodiversity trends and discussion regularly turned to the current and post-2010 CBD indicator suite.

The 2010 BIP secretariat has an ongoing programme of awareness raising and establishing links between biodiversity initiatives at global, regional and national levels. This work includes sharing the Partnership’s activities with those involved with other multilateral environmental agreements such as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. We were therefore delighted to accept an invitation from the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) to host a side event at its 3rd Session of the Governing Body in Tunis, Tunisia.

The 2010 BIP has officially re-launched its new website on the 22nd May 2009, the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB). This unique portal will provide comprehensive information on biodiversity trends and is intended to be the primary source of information for global biodiversity indicators.

The 2010 BIP Caribbean Biodiversity Indicators Capacity Development Workshop took place from the 8-9 December at the Cascadia Hotel, Trinidad. The objective of the workshop was to raise awareness and develop capacity for the production and use of biodiversity indicators for decision-making and reporting by countries in the Caribbean region, with a particular focus on the 4th National Reports to the CBD due in March 2009. The workshop was well attended, with participants including government representatives from 15 countries in the Caribbean region.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC), the world’s largest conservation event, took place from 5-14 October at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (CCIB) in Barcelona, Spain. As the primary global initiative promoting and developing biodiversity indicators, the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010 BIP) was well in attendance at the WCC with 35 Partners represented. Twelve of whom had exhibition booths.

On 25 September 2008 world leaders are meeting at UN Headquarters in New York to identify new actions to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which now include a new biodiversity target. The High-level Event, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, aims to ensure that all countries can achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The seventh Millennium Development Goal, to ensure environmental sustainability, now includes the target, “reduce biodiversity loss, achieving by 2010 a significant reduction in the rate of loss”, which is compatible with the ‘2010 Target’ of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Environmental sustainability will be one of three themes discussed at the High-level Event.

Tuesday 23 September was Earth Overshoot Day: the day humanity used all the resources nature will generate this year according to the Global Footprint Network (GFN). Beyond Earth Overshoot day, we move into the ecological equivalent of deficit spending, utilizing resources at a faster rate than the planet can regenerate in a calendar year. Humanity’s first Earth Overshoot Day was 31 December, 1986. This day has gradually moved forward over the years, and now our rate of overshoot stands at 40 percent more than the planet can renewably supply. Globally, we now demand the biological capacity of 1.4 planets, according to the GFN.

BirdLife International has launched a new publication and website, the State of the World’s Birds, today at their World Conference in Buenos Aires. The ‘State of the World’s Birds is published every four years by BirdLife International, and the 2008 theme is ‘Indicators of our changing world’. The report highlights the worldwide decline of common birds, providing evidence of a rapid deterioration in the global environment that is affecting all life on earth.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress, the world’s largest conservation event, will take place from 5-14 October, at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (CCIB) in Barcelona, Spain. More than 8,000 of the world’s leading decision makers will attend the event to decide on important conservation issues. As the primary global initiative promoting and developing biodiversity indicators, the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010 BIP) will play a prominent role at the WCC, hosting and making appearances at a variety of different events.

The second technical meeting of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) was held at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal, Canada from the 25-26 June 2008. This meeting was crucial for determining the progress of the Partnership, as well as clarifying the expectations for the Partnership over the next two years in the run up to the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10).

Dr Matt Walpole, Head of Ecosystem Assessment Programme at UNEP-WCMC and member of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership Secretariat, will be responding to questions under the title: 'Biodiversity Indicators: Tracking Biodiversity Change

WWF, in partnership with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), have just launched their latest report '2010 and Beyond: Rising to the Biodiversity Challenge', in time for the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) in Bonn, Germany.

The official launch of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010BIP) took place on Thursday 12th July at UNESCO in Paris, during the second meeting of the Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.