Assessment, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Biodiversity

Keynote Addresses
The COP has recognised the need for evaluation of measures taken. As stated in COP Decision II/8 “There is a
need for each party to start assessing the effectiveness of measures taken under the Convention. However,
methods for assessing the effectiveness of measures to conservation or sustainable use of biological diversity
should be reviewed. The use of indicators of biological diversity and the status of its components is
particularly time- and cost-effective”.
Clearly the setting of meaningful measurable targets must often be subject to the availability of adequate
quantitative data – if we wish to set targets in forest biological diversity conservation, for example, we need to
have adequate knowledge of the present basis, extent and status of such diversity. Of course, such data are often
lacking, unreliable or inadequate and so our efforts must be directed towards identifying targets that can act as
indicators of broader or related targets, or where our targets also address the need for establishing baseline data.
Worldwide there is an increasing trend towards the incorporation of measurable or SMART targets into
strategic and other plans adopted for biodiversity conservation. Several countries throughout the world have
included measurable target in their Biodiversity Action Plans. The presentation includes several illustrative
examples, such as the National Targets for Biodiversity included in the First National Report to the COP from
Guyana. Its national targets include the maintenance of 60% of Guyana as natural forest and the designation
of approximately 10% of Guyana under protected status. The U.K. Biodiversity Action Plan (1994) contains a
major section on Targets and Monitoring containing a total of 50 targets. For many of these targets measurable
performance indicators are provided whereby the achievement of the targets can be monitored. For example,
the U.K. Action Plan sets the target of managing and maintaining all existing 12,500 ha of woodland
remaining of the important Caledonian Pinewoods of Scotland, and during the 1990s, proposes to begin the
process of regenerating a further 5,000 ha.
At the international level a series of measurable outcome targets have been proposed for a draft Global
Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), currently being considered by SBSTTA. 14 SMART targets have been
proposed under the headings understanding and documenting plant diversity; conserving plant diversity;
using plant diversity sustainably; raising awareness about the importance of plant diversity and building
capacity for the conservation of plant diversity.
In the proposal for a global strategy for plant conservation (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/7/10), the Executive
Secretary notes that “The strategy and its 14 targets are intended to provide a framework for policy makers and
public opinion and catalyse the reforms necessary to achieve plant conservation. Clear, stable, long-term
targets that are adopted by the international community can help to shape expectations and create the
conditions in which all sectors, whether governments, the private sector, or civil society, have the confidence to
develop solutions to address threats to plant diversity. For the targets to be widely understood, and appealing
to public opinion, they need to be kept fairly simple and straightforward. They should be understood in a
commonsensical rather than a literal way. In order that the number of targets be kept manageable, they need
to focus on a set of activities that are strategic, rather than aiming to be comprehensive”. The time-scale
proposed for the achievement of these targets is 2002-2010, to bring them in line with the Strategic Plan of the
Convention. The setting of global targets in plant conservation may, if adopted, provide a valuable pilot
exercise in evaluating the utility of such global targets for other areas of biodiversity conservation.
The draft targets included in the GSPC have already helped to stimulate the development of targets in plant
conservation at regional levels. For example, a draft European Plant Conservation Strategy, prepared jointly by
the Council of Europe and Planta Europa, proposes 41 SMART targets for the conservation of Europe’s plant
diversity, each linked to and addressing the European component of the targets in the GSPC. The adoption of
measurable targets has also been considered by several other international instruments and initiatives, such as
the International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation, prepared by Botanic Gardens Conservation
International based on submissions from over 300 botanic gardens and individuals and adopted at the World
Botanic Gardens Congress in 2000. It proposes a series of targets and measurable indicators to assess the
implementation of the recommendations and proposed actions it contains, each one of which is closely linked
to the achievement of different aspects of the proposed targets in the GSPC.
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