Defra publishes biodiversity indicators

The environment department has revealed key figures on the health of priority species and habitats across the UK

Defra has unveiled biodiversity indicators that it says will provide an insight into the health of the natural environment in England and other parts of the UK up to 2020.

The indicators include: the population status of key species; plant diversity; the status of priority species, habitats and ecosystems; protected sites; and expenditure on biodiversity.

The original 26 indicators for England, which were published in 2011, have been revised down to 24, while the number UK-wide have increased from 18 to 24.

Defra says its review of the initial indicators identified a small number of gaps where there were no indicators for particular targets, or where the existing ones were only indirectly linked to the “Aichi targets” – the UN strategic plan for the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed at Nagoya, Japan, in 2010.