The Living Planet Index (LPI) forms part of the CBD global biodiversity indicator suite and is an indicator of change in the population of vertebrate species. The LPI is not only a global index but can also be calculated for selected regions, nations, biomes or taxonomic groups, provided that there are sufficient data available.
The global database of vertebrate population time series is managed by WWF International and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).Work is currently underway to make the database available online, with the aim to encourage nations and regions to submit data for both the production of their own LPI and to strengthen the global indicator. Two examples are presented here of a country and a region that generate their own LPI by providing data in to the global LPI database, thereby also contributing to the global indicator.
Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources in Uganda has utilised the LPI method to produce a national LPI for Uganda, which features in the biennial ‘State of Uganda’s biodiversity’ reports. Makerere University inputs the data used to generate the index into the global LPI database.
Tour du Valat, a research centre for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands, in collaboration with WWF International and the ZSL, has recently produced a LPI exclusively for the wetlands of the Mediterranean region. Tour du Valat contributed a considerable amount of data to the global database to produce the index; 1,400 population estimates for 301 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.
The Ecological Footprint, developed by the Global Footprint Network (GFN), measures humanity’s demand on the biosphere in terms of the area of biologically productive land and water required to provide the resources we use and to absorb our waste. The Ecological Footprint is one of a suite of indicators adopted by the CBD to measure progress towards the 2010 Biodiversity Target.
In 2005 GFN launched its 10-in-10 Initiative with the goal of having 10 countries adopt the Ecological Footprint as a major policy indicator by 2015. A primary strategy of the initiative is to encourage independent third party review of the National Footprint Accounts, the data set that underlies the Ecological Footprint of 152 nations. The initiative will help nations to develop their own Ecological Footprint, whilst in turn strengthen the underlying data for the global indicator.
Currently, seven countries and numerous municipalities have adopted the Footprint; Switzerland has completed its national review, and national reviews are underway in Japan, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, Ecuador and France.
View National Case Studies.
The Wild Bird Index is a global indicator developed by RSPB and BirdLife International to show average trends in the abundance of a selected set of species. The global-scale indicator will incorporate national data and is under development. However, several nations and regions have produced their own Wild Bird Indices from national bird population monitoring schemes and the data from these will feed into the global indicator.
New bird population monitoring schemes are being initiated in a number of countries, including in Africa. These will produce data to allow national indices to be produced, and contribute to a global Wild Bird Index in due course.
This national indicator is based on population trends of common breeding birds, and is one of the UK government’s 15 headline indicators to assess progress towards the 2010 target. The index can be disaggregated to produce separate indices for seabirds, water and wetland birds, woodland birds and farmland birds.
This regional indicator, developed by BirdLife International, the European Bird Census Council, RSPB, and Statistic Netherlands, shows trends in population sizes of a suite of common breeding birds across 18 European countries. The index forms part of the SEBI 2010 (Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators) indicator suite, which consists of 26 biodiversity indicators.
Living Planet Index
• Living Planet Index: Guidance for national and regional use. Version 1.1. (2010 BIP, WWF & ZSL 2008) • Towards An Observatory Of Mediterranean Wetlands: Evolution of biodiversity from 1970 to the present (Tour du Valet & MedWet, 2008). Available in English, French and Spanish. Ecological Footprint
• Ten-in-Ten Campaign – National Case Studies • National Footprint Accounts Wild Bird Index
• Wild Bird Indices: tracking trends in the condition of habitats