The Nature Index; a new method to integrate knowledge on biodiversity Signe Nybø Assistant Research Director Jeg må introdusere meg selv. Prosjektleder NI bestilt av regjeringen Representert Norge i EEA møter om biodiv indikatorer Gjøre meg sårbar med en overraskende forbindelse mellom tale, foredrag og publikum. Mindre effektivt å gå rett på påstand og bevisfølelse.

Why is biodiversity and ecosystem services an element of sustainable development? Ecosystem services are defined as services provided by the natural environment that benefit people. Examples; food, bioenergy, building material carbon storage, flood control, cleaning of water and air recreation, religion, aesthetic concerns (cultural dimension) nutrient recycling and availability, primary production Ethically

The Nature Index on the political agenda Nature Index was published in 2010 after a 3 year period of development. Initiated and financed by the Government Adopted as an indicator of sustainable development by the Ministry of Finance 2011 Adopted as indicator of major ecosystems by the Ministry of Environment 2011. Rearranged their management issues

Only natural species, no alien species Optmal/ sustainable populations of each species Species or surrogates of species Trends over time (population, density, etc.) Both common and threatened species, keystone species, - not alien species) All taxa (lichens, mosses, flowering plants, invertebrates, fish, birds, mammals) Indicators sensitive to different pressures Given data should be geographically representative Only natural species, no alien species Values scaled 0 -1, where 1 is intact ecosystems

A National Expert or an Expert group for each indicator Data entered online Monitoring data Research Unpublished reports or notebooks Field observations A National Expert or an Expert group for each indicator Mean values and uncertainties were entered for each indicator and integrated in the final index

Information for the public 308 indicators 125 experts Experts Indicators Nature Index Framework Information for the public Tool for environmental management Predictive modelling framework Involved: Research Institutes of agriculture, forestry, environment and Statistics Norway

The state of major ecosystems in 2010 as calculated by NI (308 indicators and 9 major ecosystems) 1.0

2010

Management objectives versus reference state Water Frame Directive

Conclusions Get an overview of state and trends of biodiversity. to inform public a tool for environmental management Easy to communicate. Maps and graphs, yes Difficult to communicate the difference between reference value and management targets. Similar to the Water Frame Directive Scientifically sound Methodology agreed among involved institutions, incl. sector More of the knowledgebase is used as expert judgements are included. Cost-effective... Published in scientific journal -PLoS one

Involved research institutes: Thanks for the attention! For more information: http://english.dirnat.no and http://www.plosone.org Involved research institutes: Norwegian Institute of Water Research, Norwegian Forests and Landscape Institute, Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, Norwegian Institute of Nature Research. Marine Institute Financed by the Directorate of Nature Management/ Ministry of Environment Photo: Dag Karlsen

Cooperation and expertise for a sustainable future