National Use of IUCN Knowledge Products in the New World: A Study of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Abstract

Biodiversity loss continues to be an increasing concern to conservationists, governments, society and policymakers. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) currently serves as the key multilateral environmental agreement to provide a framework for protecting global biodiversity. Parties to the CBD are required to develop and submit a National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) and National Reports to the CBD. These documents serve as the principal instruments used by governments and stakeholders to identify priorities, implement and track progress of the CBD at the national level. New World countries hold a large proportion of the planet’s biodiversity and are suffering some of the most dramatic declines in species populations and biodiversity. Over the past 50 years, the IUCN has been producing biodiversity and conservation knowledge products that are fundamental for tracking the progress of the many international targets, such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. The goal of this study is to examine if New World countries are using IUCN knowledge products to help construct NBSAPs or National Reports. 234 documents (69 NBSAPs and 162 National Reports) were analyzed for IUCN knowledge product keywords. A total of 196 documents had at least one mention of an IUCN knowledge product and 42 had no mention of any of the knowledge products. 89.4% of keyword coded segments dealt with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN publications, GBIF, Protected Areas Categories, KBAs, GISD, ECOLEX, the Red List of Ecosystems and WDPA had small percentages of the remaining coded segments (10.6% total). There was no mention of GRIIS, IBAT, the Green List of Species or the Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas or the Green List of Species in any of the documents. Further studies should investigate awareness levels of IUCN knowledge products among appointed national focal points for the CBD, particularly in those countries with low levels of knowledge product use, to determine reasons why they may, or may not being using them in NBSAP and National Report Development and explore potential avenues to increase awareness and use at the national level. IUCN knowledge products should continue to form an integral part of future indicators during this critical moment for biodiversity conservation.