Relating characteristics of global biodiversity targets to reported progress

Area of Science:

• Biodiversity conservation
• Environmental policy
• Conservation science

Background:

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity includes 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
• Assessing the effectiveness of these targets is crucial for informing future biodiversity frameworks.
• Previous assessments have not quantitatively linked target characteristics to progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the framing of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets against specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic, unambiguous, scalable, and comprehensive (SMART) criteria.
• To investigate the relationship between expert-assessed target characteristics and reported progress toward achieving these targets.
• To provide evidence-based recommendations for structuring future biodiversity targets.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and expert assessment of Aichi Biodiversity Targets using SMART criteria (excluding time-bound).
• Analysis of expert scores against global biodiversity progress assessments (Global Biodiversity Outlook, IPBES).
• Ordinal logistic regression to determine relationships between target characteristics and reported progress.

Main Results:

• Significant positive relationships were found between progress and targets perceived as measurable, realistic, unambiguous, and scalable.
• Some evidence suggested a link between progress and target specificity, but not ambition.
• This study is the first to demonstrate associations between progress and specific SMART criteria in biodiversity targets.

Conclusions:

• The structure and wording of biodiversity targets significantly influence their implementability and success.
• Future biodiversity frameworks should prioritize targets that are specific, measurable, realistic, unambiguous, and scalable.
• Clear, actionable targets are essential for translating policy into effective national, regional, and global conservation action.