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)