Aggregation Of Indicators For Biological Diversity In Nordic Countries

Aggregation of Indicators for Biological Diversity in the Nordic Countries

Aggregation of Indicators for Biological Diversity in Nordic Countries

Abstract: The Nordic countries have a common goal to halt the decline in biological diversity by 2010. Indicators and indices are important tools to describe the development in biodiversity and hence evaluate the 2010-target. At a workshop held in March 2006, the quality, availability and policy relevance of biodiversity data in the Nordic countries were evaluated. Available data differ between countries but it was agreed that the overall quality of the data allows the development of an aggregated index (and a set of indicators) that can describe the state of biodiversity in the Nordic countries. In a Nordic biodiversity index, quantity of biodiversity should be measured as total area of each habitat type, both inside and outside protected areas. Quality should be measured as species abundance and, when applicable, as species composition and/or habitat structure (e.g. dead wood). The index should be illustrative, easily understood and based on transparent calculations and assumptions.

State of biodiversity in the Nordic countries

The Nordic countries have agreed on a common target to halt the decline in biodiversity by 2010. This report aims at evaluating the 2010-target by presenting indicators that can describe trends in biodiversity in the Nordic countries. Our results comprise the most comprehensive documentation of land use in the Nordic countries to date. The area of important nature types such as mire, grassland and heathland have decreased significantly over the past one to two decades, whereas the area of constructed habitats, including city areas and transport networks, has grown considerably in all of the Nordic countries. Each of these trends in land use will cause biodiversity to decline. Looking into the quality aspect of biodiversity, our results reveal that two-thirds of the quality indicators presented show declines and the remaining one-third show improvements (or steady-state). Overall, our results indicate that biodiversity has declined in the Nordic countries since 1990. In particular, farmland, mire, grassland and heathland habitats show declines in biodiversity, but also the remaining habitats show negative trends. Therefore, based on the findings from this study, we conclude that it is highly unlikely that the target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 can be achieved by the Nordic countries. Our results should be perceived as a first attempt to make an overall assessment of biodiversity in the Nordic countries. We believe that if further efforts were directed towards scrutinising existing and historic monitoring programmes and data sources, additional indicators could be calculated and hence a better knowledge base would be achieved.