Reporting Harmonisation: The UK Experience

1. Reporting Harmonisation: The UK Experience Towards the harmonisation of national reporting to biodiversity-related treaties 22-23 September 2004, Haasrode, Belgium James M. Williams Joint Nature Conservation Committee, UK Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough, PE1 1JY. UK. James.Williams@jncc.gov.uk +44 (0)17 33 86 68 68

2. There is lots of available information Datasets from other sectors • Agriculture e.g. land use • Chemical loading • Agri-environment • Management • Fishing • Air Quality • Climate e.g. rainfall, temperature, phenology • Soils • Geology • ……. Research needed to identify the most relevant pressures to inform development of policy relevant statistics Biodiversity Data • Countryside Survey 2000 • Habitat inventories – various stages, + pilot sample based monitoring • Breeding Birds • Rare Birds • Wetland Birds • Seabirds • Plant Atlases • BAP Priority species and habitats (embryonic) • Butterflies (extending) • Sea Mammals • Bats • Pilot schemes for other mammals • Marine monitoring programme • ….. For a list of monitoring schemes see www.jncc.gov.uk/ukbg2/monitoringschemes/

3. Environmental Change Network NNR/SSSI validation sites Agri-Env scheme monitoring SSSI condition BAP HAPs/SAPs Reporting Breeding bird survey Butterfly monitoring Countryside Survey Land cover map National Biodiversity Network Validation Frequency Precision Monitoring Surveillance Biological recording Habitat/land cover inventory Data/knowledge can be structured as an information pyramid Coverage

4. UK has lots of experience in doing biodiversity convention reports • Input into WCMC studies • EEA Reporting Obligations Database • Project planning – generic process • Reports contain lots of activity and process, but very little outcome • Devolution / consultation – time required • Cross-departmental lines (Ministerial & Official level committees) • JNCC as point of common experience / expertise

5. A generic, project based, process for reporting Draft 0, Information Request Initiation Responses Editing Final Draft Consultation Draft Editing Consultation Submitted Report Ministerial Clearance Final Edit?

6. Some issues in biodiversity reporting Ramsar CBD CMS AEWA Birds D. • National and International requirements • Cycles vary, up to 6 years • The burden is growing • documented by reporting obligations database and planning work • Overseas Territories contain key biodiversity, but have their own challenges • Lack of outcome information • Should we tear up current reporting framework(s) and start again?

7. Information management experience • National Biodiversity Network (UK GBIF node) www.searchnbn.net • Clearing House Mechanism www.chm.org.uk • UK BAP – online reporting www.ukbap.org.uk • Headline indicators http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wildlife/wdkf03.htm • Wildlife Statistics

8. Integrating information into assessments • We need to make better use of what we have • improved data access and management - NBN • flexibility in geographic scale • protected areas + wider countryside • common + rare / scarce • improve existing or develop new schemes to achieve the confidence we require in the statistics • information from across the breadth of biodiversity • species (including people), • habitats (ecosystems), • genes, • ecosystem services

9. We still have many challenges • Key tasks to tackle • outcome orientated reporting • trends – identify and interpret • basing decisions on information • more research into solutions to problems required • there is a need for more large scale conservation thinking • The biodiversity conventions have common requirements, but often expressed differently (e.g. site data)

10. A vision for the future • State of Biodiversity Report on regular basis • perhaps every 3 years • indicator based • meets Aarhus Convention requirements • Update data as available • some annually, some every decade • Use for all biodiversity conventions • minimal extra detail on action and process • But – problem of existing reporting obligations / timetables – needs political decision not to do them, and resources to do SoB report