WCC 2016 Res 066 - Activity Report

In Collaboration with SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group and Oxford University, we have started to work on a DECISION-SUPPORT FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE CORPORATE BIODIVERSITY ACCOUNTABILITY. The concept note developed in 2017 will serve as the starting point to engage businesses that have indicated needs for measuring and valuing nature in their business activities.

The aim of this project is to improve the context for corporate biodiversity accountability to account for impacts and dependencies of business on biodiversity and report these to different stakeholders through the use of robust biodiversity indicators relevant to the purpose.

The project will therefore provide guidance for businesses as well as conservation practionners who work with the private sector to identify or develop robust and relevant biodiversity indicators for different corporate biodiversity accountability purposes through the following objectives:

i) To identify and define the corporate biodiversity accountability approaches; that is the various business needs for measuring, monitoring and reporting on biodiversity which would require the use of biodiversity indicators.
ii) To match each need with known robust and relevant approaches based on private and public sector examples, and best-practice principles of indicator development from conservation science.
iii) To identify knowledge gaps for certain corporate biodiversity accountability objectives/scales/audiences, where methodologies to develop indicators currently do not exist.
iv) To outline a decision-support framework that presents the above in a useful format to guide companies and conservation organisations in the selection of the most appropriate approach based on the specific need. Collect principles for developing biodiversity indicators.