Biodiversity plays a fundamental role in sustaining human life, providing basic necessities such as food, water, and the air we breathe. The current decline of biological resources worldwide, evidenced by recent reports of collapsing fish stocks and newly extinct species, motivated world leaders to endorse the 2010 Biodiversity Target, which is a commitment to "achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss."
Unfortunately, biodiversity is a difficult concept to define, let alone measure. Estimates concerning the total number of species worldwide, for example, range from two to over 10 million, although fewer than 1.8 million species have been identified to date. A new United Nations initiative, the 2010 Biodiversity Indicator Partnership, seeks to overcome such hurdles by developing a new set of indicators to more comprehensively and quantitatively assess global progress towards the 2010 target. This multi-million dollar effort to track the fate of global biodiversity highlights the importance of data and statistics when it comes to attaining regional, national and international development goals relating to the environment and beyond.
Measuring Biodiversity
Several indicators for measuring biodiversity already exist, and many of these can be found on this web site in the Biodiversity and Protected Areas searchable database. Most notably, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) compiles annually its Red List of Threatened Species, which shows that nearly one in four mammals, one in three amphibians, and one in eight birds is threatened with extinction.
Total Number of Threatened Species by Continent
Source: EarthTrends 2007, using data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007.
Furthermore, the World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC) collects country-level statistics on the percentage of land surface covered by protected areas. At the global level, this data shows us that roughly 12 percent of the Earth's land surface is protected, compared to only 0.6 percent of the ocean.
Percent of Total Land Area Protected, 2003
Source: World Resources Institute 2003
Additional indicators track trends in forest cover, agriculture, and water. Examples from the EarthTrends database include:
Forest Extent: Forest area (current) as a percent of original forest area
Trade in Species: Global net trade in live lizards
Industrial Water Pollution: Organic water pollutant (BOD) emissions
Land: Arable and permanent cropland
The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership
The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership has already identified 22 indicators falling into seven focal areas determined by the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity:
- status and trends of the components of biodiversity;
- sustainable use;
- threats to biodiversity;
- ecosystem integrity and ecosystem goods and services;
- status of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices;
- status of access and benefits sharing; and
- status of resource transfers.
13 of the 22 indicators, including trends in invasive alien species and the connectivity/fragmentation of ecosystems, are ready for immediate testing. Others require further development and research, including data on the incidence of human-induced ecosystem failure and the well-being of communities who depend directly on local ecosystem goods and services.
More information about the 2010 Target and Indicators can be found at the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership website.
RELATED LINKS:
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
NASA's Global Change Master Directory
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
EarthTrends
Biodiversity and Protected Areas searchable database
Bioinvasions: Stemming the Tide of Exotic Species
Still and Silent Ecosystems: Declining Grasslands Biodiversity
