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| Scotland's Biodiversity Indicators
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The global framework for 2010 reporting fosters consistency along with flexibility to reflect biogeographical, policy and data differences at regional, national and sub-national scales. Scotland is represented within the UK biodiversity indicator suite for CBD reporting, and has a biodiversity strategy in its own right. Indicator development was therefore undertaken at the national (UK) and country (Scotland) scales, with close correspondence between the Scotland and UK suites. Some indicators (such as genetic diversity of farm breeds) work best at the UK scale. Conversely, some indicators for Scotland are additional to the UK suite: otter range (restoration of natural potential), marine plankton (ecosystem dynamics) and estuarine fish (restoration of natural potential), together with greenspace and aspects of awareness and involvement.
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 Scale: National
Year Started: 2007
Countries Included: Scotland
Organization Responsible: Scottish Government - Scottish Natural Heritage
Focal Point: Edward C Mackey (Scottish Natural Heritage)
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| Lessons learnt and advice!
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Want to know more about the challenges and lessons learnt from this initiative?
Edward Mackey, Project manager of the Scottish Biodiversity Indicators initiatives, shares he's experiences and provides some words of advice to nations/regions looking to develop their own biodiversity indicators.
Interview with Edward Mackey.
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Number of biodiversity indicators: 22
Framework: CBD Framework
Number of indicators within the CBD Focal Areas
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| How and why was the initiative started?
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Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy, “it’s In Your Hands” (2004), sets out a 25-year vision and framework for action. The aim of the strategy is “to conserve biodiversity for the health, enjoyment and well being of the people of Scotland now and in the future”. The Strategy provides a foundation for Scotland’s contribution to the United Kingdom’s obligations under the international Convention on Biological diversity (CBD), Scotland’s commitment to sustainable development, and the statutory duty on public bodies in Scotland to conserve biodiversity under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.
Following a review and public consultation in May 2004, the Indicators Working Group of the Scottish Biodiversity Forum proposed a suite of 22 biodiversity indicators for Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy. First published by the Scottish Government in November 2007, they are now maintained and updated by Scottish Natural Heritage.
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Scottish Natural Heritage on behalf of the Scottish Government.
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| How were the indicators selected?
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Candidate biodiversity indicators were put forward by the Scottish Biodiversity Forum Action Plan & Science Group as part of draft proposals for a Biodiversity Strategy for Scotland published in February 2003. They were chosen on the basis that they would fulfil established criteria, that data were available or deliverable for reporting within the required timescale, and they reflected the wider state of the ecosystems of which they are part. The indicators were developed following peer review and public consultation.
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The CBD framework is adopted consistently across European (SEBI 2010), UK and Scotland indicators. The relationships between Scotland’s Biodiversity Indicators (column 4, supplemented by Scotland’s natural heritage indicators, under development, in column 5) is outlined below.
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| How are the indicators communicated?
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An indicator report was published in 2007, which was made available both as a hard copy and online. Developments with the indicators are communicated regularly through web based updates.
The target audience is an informed, non-specialist public, including: public sector policy makers; environmental consultant and voluntary sectors; secondary and tertiary education sectors; interested public.
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a) Updating
The indicators are updated as frequently as survey time frames permit. Following analysis and quality assurance they are published electronically.
b) Utilisation
Components of the indicator suite have been adapted for use within Scotland’s National Performance Framework (terrestrial birds, site condition, visits to the outdoors) and Rural Development Programme (farmland birds).
c) Evidence Base
Indicators are used routinely as evidence for policy and in reporting.
d) Next steps
The electronic presentation of information is being updated.
The potential for more comprehensive reporting, in conjunction with partner government agencies is being explored.
Indicators continue to be developed for related policy purposes (such as SRDP) with new work on combined spatial analysis across environmental and biological datasets.
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