Cambridge in the winter has a reputation for mists. It was therefore no surprise that the Sustainable Use Indicator Workshop organised by UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and the IUCN SSC Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SUSG) on 16-17 January 2006 spent quite a time groping around intellectually to find a roadmap on this most teasing of issues. (For essential background see the report on discussions on the topic at SBSTTA 11 earlier in this number of Sustainable). However by the end of the two days signposts were emerging and, subject to some intensive work in the immediate follow–up period, significant progress seems to have been made.

In summing up Dr Jon Hutton, Chair of the meeting, pointed out that for the first time a group had come together that represented all the streams of work relevant to developing indicators for sustainable use. Moreover there had been a strong consensus about the importance of the work and a wish to continue the partnership to achieve positive results over the short and medium terms (i.e. 2010 and 2020).

In addition to the organising bodies, participants included the Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC), representatives of the IUCN Species and Global Programmes, TRAFFIC International and South America, UK Dept of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Namibia’s Department of Environment & Tourism, CITES Secretariat, FAO Fisheries & Forestry Departments, Wildlife Conservation Society, Diversitas, Fauna & Flora International, Natural History Museum of France, Canadian Wildlife Department, Swedbio, Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MPN), IUCN-Central Africa, Durrell Institute (DICE) and Birdlife International.

Work streams

The various streams of work which intersected for the first time can be described as follows:

CBD CoP VII/12 (Feb 2004) adopted the Addis Ababa Principles of Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and called among other things for further work on indicators, taking into account material included in the Addis report (SUSG was fully involved in this process);

CBD CoP VII/30 (i.e. the same meeting as above) adopted goals and sub-targets under seven focal areas (one being sustainable use) to implement the 2002 CBD/WSSD decisions to slow the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 and proposed provisional indicators for development to enable Parties to measure progress (SUSG was not involved in this process which was not related to the body of work synthesised at Addis);

Following CoP VII/30 IUCN’s SSC, Species Programme and ZSL have been working hard on indicators for species’ status, which are also relevant as an input to sustainable use indicators;

UNEP-WCMC has a general remit under CBD CoP Decision VII/30 to assist the CBD Secretariat in the development of the whole suite of indicators required by Decision VII/30; and

SBSTTA 11 Recommendation XI/13 (December 2005) on Sustainable Use refers to ongoing initiatives to further develop indicators of sustainable use, including this WCMC/SUSG Cambridge Workshop, and requests the Executive Secretary to report on these at CoP 8 to be held in Brazil this coming March.

The Cambridge Workshop was held under the development stage of a Global Environment Facility (GEF) project being undertaken by the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership Project of which both WCMC, SUSG and several other bodies represented are members. As a result of the meeting a full proposal will be submitted to the GEF shortly and a report will be sent at once to the CBD Secretariat. A substantive account of the workshop will be available in due course.

January 2006. Robin Sharp CB is Regional Chair for Europe, Sustainable Use Specialist Group: robinsharpcb.freeserve.co.uk

Sustainable, January 2006, contents page