Marine Biodiversity Indicators for Policy
Making
Ward AppeltansIOC/UNESCO
iMarine e-Infrastructure for data driven decision making and research, 14-15 May 2013, Brussels
We are losing our natural habitats
van Hooidonk et al. 2013. Temporary refugia for coral reefs in a warming world. Nature Clim. Change http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1829
50% 100%
We are losing our natural habitats
Fish and invertebrate stocks are over-exploited
Source: FAO
Introduction and establishment of marine invasive alien species
Copyright holder: European Environment Agency (EEA).
We are losing species at an unprecedented rate
Currently 2,4% of the ocean is protected
The loss of Biodiversity is a global concern
• 1992 – UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro– Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): objectives are
the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources,
• 2002 – World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg regarded biodiversity a benefit to society and important to alleviate poverty– CBD target to significantly reduce the current rate of
biodiversity loss by 2010.– In 2003, EU target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010.
EU Biodiversity Indicators
• Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators (SEBI) – In 2005, the EU established a process to
streamline national, regional and global indicators and, crucially, to develop a simple and workable set of indicators to measure progress and help reach the 2010 target.
– By the end of 2007 : 26 indicators were published by the EEA.
Global Biodiversity Indicators
• 2006, CBD COP8 established a consortium of indicator developers and the Biodiversity Indicators Platform (BIP) was formed.
Post 2010
• 2010, 3rd Global Biodiversity Outlook (based on BIP indicators) reported that the UN biodiversity target had not been met and warned that the pressures on biodiversity continue to intensify
• 2010, EU biodiversity assessment report concluded that also the EU has missed its target.
Post 2010
• 2010, 10th CBD COP in Nagoya adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.– 5 strategic goals and 20 new targets.
• 2011, EU Biodiversity Strategy – Our life insurance, our natural capital– 2050 vision and 2020 headline target and 6 key targets
1. Fully implement the Birds and Habitats Directives.
2. Maintain and restore ecosystems and their services.
3. Increase the contribution of agriculture and forestry to maintaining and enhancing biodiversity.
4. Ensure the sustainable use of fisheries resources.
5. Combat invasive alien species.
6. Help avert global biodiversity loss.
Post 20102012, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)
“The future we want”
“Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability”
•Actions to reduce stressors and maintain or restore the structure and function of marine ecosystems for equitable and sustainable use of marine resources and ecosystems.•Implement Actions to Adapt to and Mitigate Ocean Acidification•Develop and Execute a Global Program aimed at Greater Protection and Restoration of Vital Ocean and Coastal Habitats,•Strengthen the Legal Framework to Effectively Address Aquatic Invasive Species
Ocean Biogeographic Information System
OBIS is the world’s largest open access, online data system on the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine species
35 million distribution records
120,000 marine species
1,130 datasets
>800 publications
Data legacy of 10-year Census of Marine LifeAdopted by UNESCO-IOC, project of IODE, hosted by IOC project office for IODE in Oostende (Belgium)
•www.iobis.org
Nr of observation records (5D) in OBIS
Nr of observation records (1D) in OBIS
White is no data
Arctic view: number of records in OBIS per 5d (left) and 1d (right) cell
Pacific view: number of records in OBIS per 5d (left) and 1d (right) cell
Very few historical dataOnly 100 marine species for which we have yearly records between 1955-2005
Nr of observation records per depth and distance from coastline in OBIS – vast mid waters are unexplored
2013 has around 2.7x more records (almost 19Million, cf. almost 7M) compared to 2009, and the range of sample depths represented has increased slightly, from 0-10670m in 2009 to 0-10900m now.
OBIS data growth: # records35 million geo-referenced species observations (+ 5 million since Jan 2011)
OBIS data growth:# records.k/dataset
OBIS data growth: # marine species.K
120,000 marine
species (+ 5,000
since Jan 2011)
Nr of species (5D) in OBIS
Nr of species expected in a sample of 50 specimens per 5D in OBIS
Nr of observation records and Nr of species in OBIS per year
Marine Species Diversity – current knowledge
700K – 1 million marine species
230K described
120K in OBIS
12K OBIS/year
5,4K IUCN assessment
Appeltans et al (2012). The Magnitude of Global Species Diversity, Current Biology 22
Trendylyzer
• Trends in global species composition:– Are we observing more or fewer species? – What are the most common species (10 - 25 or n) and is
this changing over time and space?– Can we detect regime shifts?
• Trends in distribution and abundance of selected species:– What is the extinction risk of species?
• The protected area overlays indicator:– Does the global protected area system covers a
representative sample of the world’s biodiversity (including threatened species), and is it targeting the most important sites for biodiversity?
Most observed species (Nr of records)
High global variations per year
King pinguins invasion in 2004!
Photo credits: Eric Whoeler
I don’t think so
North Sea has the highest Nr of records
Most observed pelagic species in the North Sea
Trends of most observed North Sea species
Trends of pelagic North Sea species
Regime shift
Herring recovered after the fish ban
Marine species conservation status in EU
Protected vs Endangered species in Europe:
•77 marine species on EU Habitat directive list
•35 marine species on EU Bird directive list
•35 marine species on OSPAR list
•18 marine species on CITES list
•71 EU marine species threatened according to IUCN Red list (16 CR, 16 EN and 39 VU)
Source PESI/EU-nomen
Marine species conservation status in EU
• bullet
Copyright holder: European Environment Agency (EEA).
EU Habitat Directive; number of assessments in brackets.
fin whale Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by trade. Commercial trade in wild-caught specimens of these species is illegal (permitted only in exceptional licensed circumstances)
Species of community interest, in need of strict protection
This species is threatened and/or declining in the entire North-East Atlantic
This species is endangered and is considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild
Fin whale: global distribution
OBIS-SEAMAP, Ocean Biogeographic Information System - Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations
Fin whale : global annual trends
Nr of Records
Abundance
Fin whale : EU annual trends
Nr of Records
Abundance
Fin whale : summer sightings 1950-1990
Fin whale : summer sightings since 2000
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Non-indigenous species and likely vectors of their introductions in the North Sea
In total 167 alien and cryptogenic species
Dominant vectors: shipping (~50%, ballast water + hull fouling) and intentional introductions for stocking or aquaculture purposes (14-30%)
Relative importance of vectors: (black = hull fouling, dark grey = aquaculture, stocking, light grey = ballast water, etc.)
[slide: Sergey Olenin](Gollasch et al. 2009)
Ensis directus in 1960
Source: OBIS, 2013
Ensis directus in 1965
Source: OBIS, 2013
Ensis directus in 1979
Source: OBIS, 2013
Ensis directus in 1995
Source: OBIS, 2013
Ensis directus in 2000
Source: OBIS, 2013
Ensis directus in 2005
Source: OBIS, 2013
10% of coastal and marine areas are protected by 2020…
• EBSA• VME• Natura2000• MPA• UNESCO WHS• UNESCO Biospheres• …
Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs): Criteria
1. Uniqueness or rarity
2. Special importance for life history of species
3. Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats
4. Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, slow recovery
5. Biological productivity
6. Biological diversity
7. Naturalness
2008 COP9 criteria established
CBD-COP10 listed OBIS as a key source of information for the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) part of CBD
Areas of high biodiversity
Areas of special importance for the life history of a
species
Areas of significant naturalness
Areas of uniqueness or rarity
North Pacific regional EBSA workshop, Moscow, 25 Feb – 1 March 2013
OBIS contributions to the CBD EBSA process
OBIS contributions to the CBD EBSA process
Marine Mammal ObservationsEastern Tropical & Temperate Pacific
EBSA workshop, Galapagos Ecuador, August 2012
IUCN Red-List Species Wider Caribbean and Western Mid-Atlantic workshop, Recife,
Brazil, February 2012
examples
OBIS contributions to the CBD EBSA process
Biological Diversity all taxaWider Caribbean and Western Mid-Atlantic workshop, Recife,
Brazil, February 2012
Proposed site meeting EBSA criteria: Abrolhos Bank & Vitoria-Trindade ChainDescribed in-part due to high regional biodiversity
as depicted using OBIS data.
Compilation of scientific data & information
~60-70 GIS data layersOverlay & Analysis
Data types•Biogeography•Biological Data•Physical Data
Workshop Data Report
CBD EBSA workshops
Global Map of proposed EBSAs
The North Pacific and South-East Atlantic workshops March-April 2013 will identify more areas.
Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems database (VME-DB) and iMarine
In line with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 61/105 FAO developed:
• International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries on the High Seas o to provide guidance for States and regional fisheries
management organizations or arrangements (RFMOs/As)
o to ensure long-term conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources in the deep seas and prevent significant adverse impacts (SAIs) on vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs)
VME Criteria (as per FAO guidelines)
• Uniqueness or rarity
• Functional significance of the habitat
• Fragility
• Life-history traits of component species that make recovery difficult
• Structural complexity
iMarine VRE, FIGIS, and the VME database
The VME-DB can use i-Marine resources for:
Biodiversity/Taxonomic data-INDEEP World Register of Deep-Sea Species (WoRDSS)-CenSeam and other OBIS sources, accessible through OBIS-FAO Deep sea species distribution maps-Aquamaps for Deep sea species
Environmental/Physical data-Geomorphology and predicted habitat (Gold)- GEBCO
Fisheries data- FAO or regional catch time series
Current inventory of VME locations
Protected area overlays with biodiversity
Does the global protected area system covers a representative sample of the world’s biodiversity, and is it targeting at the most important sites for biodiversity?
• Potential indicators:–How many species with IUCN red list status per Marine Protected Area?–How many species with IUCN status in < n MPAs?
–How many endemic species per MPA (Nr and occurrences)?–What is the edge effect; MPA in the center or close to outer limit of the species distribution range?
OBIS holds 1,000,000 species observations of 15,000 marine species in UNESCO’s 46 marine world heritage sites
Conclusionsbiodiversity indicators : status
• We still need to improve geographic, taxonomic, and temporal coverage of data to unravel global biodiversity trends (lack of data and lack of sharing).
• The complexity of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning requires a selection of species at various trophic levels.
• An Ecosystem-Approach to the management of our living resources requires an holistic approach: linking biodiversity indicators to pressures, threats and impacts on goods and services.
We need to move from uneven, coarse resolution data...
The future
High resolution, contiguous coverage in space & time…
This data needs to be aggregated and made freely available to all
nations, institutions and individuals
To…
Our shared goal is to move from ad hoc scientific expert
processes to more systematic scientific
assessments.
Recommendations• Improve global coordination of marine biodiversity
and ecosystem monitoring.
• Establish Essential Biodiversity Variables (in collaboration with GOOS/GEO BON/GEO Blue Planet)
• Establish permanent marine biodiversity observatories.
• Improve standardization and sharing of data.
• Build capacity through training, standards, best practices and guidelines (in collaboration with IODE).
– Contribute to CBD's report on the "adequacy of observations, and of data systems, for monitoring the biodiversity attributes addressed in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets".
"We are all data hungry”
Major processes to assess progress of the Biodiversity targets:
•2013: EU Habitat Directive (6-year report)•2014: EU marine ecosystem & service assessment•2014: CBD 4th Global Biodiversity Outlook•2015: UN 1st World Ocean Assessment •2018: 1st IPBES assessment
Role of iMarine
• iMarine can support the assessment processes by providing generic tools like TrendyLyzer to help Member States assess the state of the environment and of biodiversity.
• iMarine provides a collaborative research environment.
• iMarine contributes to the standardization and sharing of data
One Planet – One One Planet – One OceanOcean
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Thank you!Thank you!
Special thanks to :Angela Italiano and Gianpaolo Coro (CNR)
Pat Halpin and Ei Fujioka (OBIS-SEAMAP), Anton Ellenbroek, Aureliano Gentile and Fabio Carocci (FAO), Tom Webb (U.
Sheffield)