Analysis of possible indicators to measure impacts of REDD+ on biodiversity and on indigenous and local communities

This report has been produced for the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as part of the activities in response to decision X/33 paragraph 9 (h), in which the Conference of the Parties requested the Executive Secretary to ‘…identify possible indicators to assess the contribution of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries to achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and assess potential mechanisms to monitor impacts on biodiversity from these and other ecosystem‐based approaches for climate change mitigation measures, without pre‐empting any future decisions taken under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and to report on progress to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a meeting prior to the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties’.

The authors found that the approach proposed by Gardner et al. (2011) – taking a tiered approach to operationalising REDD+ impact monitoring at various scales for meeting goals related to REDD+ under the UNFCCC – could help overcome some of the challenges. While the authors recognise that considerable progress is needed to establish such accounting, such an approach would allow for a range of syntheses and meta‐analyses using existing social, spatial, ecological and economic data for countries and regions where this is still lacking, as well as global assessments for other well‐studied species groups such as reptiles, plants and well‐studied insect taxa. It could also allow for the testing and development of simplified, robust and replicable field monitoring of biodiversity with ILC involvement, including using participatory approaches for collecting data, evaluating results for adaptive management decisions, and assessing or adjusting the “theory of change” on which REDD+ interventions are based.

This report offers a potential framework of indicators, organized and presented under thematic areas that correspond to the UN‐REDD Programme Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria. The framework also accommodates indicators that have been proposed to monitor progress against the CBD 2011‐2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the Aichi Goals and Targets, in particular relating to Targets 5, 7, 11 and 15, and indicators on land use planning, status of biodiversity, and ILC well‐being associated with ecosystem health. The proposed indicator framework is complementary to, and compatible with, the Safeguards Information System (SIS) required under UNFCCC.

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