contri-butions, for example to water quality regulation, coastal risk reduction and crop pollination, are not evenly distributed across the world. Human needs also vary depending on the location. Where the
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Target 14
Strategic Goal D: Target 14 – Ecosystem services 97 two coincide, nature’s contributions to people are
highest. In some areas, however, people’s needs are not adequately met (Figure 14.2).4
Protected areas, and other effective area-based conservation measures, are a key mechanism for safeguarding ecosystems that provide essential services, and hence potentially play a key role in achieving Target 14. Protected areas deliver 20%
of the global total of continental runoff, providing freshwater to nearly two-thirds of the global population living downstream.5 Co-management of protected areas, involving local communities, tends to be associated with delivery of greater local benefits than state management alone.6
Pollination by wild species is essential to crops and natural ecosystems; animal pollination is directly responsible for between 5-8% of current global agricultural production by volume. However, wild pollinators have declined in distribution and
diversity (and in some cases, abundance) at local and regional scales in North West Europe and North America, the only regions with adequate data; local declines have been recorded elsewhere.7 According to the IUCN Red List, 16.5% of verte-brate pollinators are threatened with global extinction, while the Red List Index for verte-brate pollinators is declining, indicating that their extinction risk is increasing.8 Where national Red List assessments are available, they often show that more than 40% of bee species may be threatened.9
Wild species used for food and medicine are increasingly threatened with extinction, owing to a combination of unsustainable use and other pressures, such as habitat loss driven by unsus-tainable agriculture, logging and commercial and residential development. About 14% of the world’s birds are thought to be used for food and/or medicinal purposes, and 23% are threatened with extinction TARGET ELEMENTS
1. Ecosystems providing essential services restored and safeguarded
2. Actions take into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable
1 2
Figure 14.1. Global trends, over 50 years, in the capacity of ecosystems to sustain the provision of 18 categories of ecosystem services or Natures’ Contributions to People.10
Directional trend 50-year global trend
Nature’s contributions to people Decrease No change Increase Across regions
1 Habitat creation & maintenance Consistent
2 Pollination and dispersal of seeds Consistent
3 Regulation of air quality Variable
4 Regulation of climate Variable
5 Regulation of ocean acidification Variable
6 Regulation of freshwater quantity Variable
7 Regulation of freshwater quality Consistent
8 Regulation of soils Variable
9 Regulation of hazards & extreme events Variable
10 Regulation of organisms Consistent
11 Energy Variable
12 Food & feed Variable
13 Materials & assistance Variable
14 Medicinal, biochemical, & genetic resources Consistent
15 Learning & inspiration Consistent
16 Physical, & psychological experiences Consistent
17 Supporting identities Consistent
18 Maintenance of options Consistent
Status
RELEVANT SDG TARGET
(compared with 13% of all bird species). Similarly, mammal species used for food and medicines (22% of all known mammal species) are more threatened on average than those not used in this way.12
A review of information provided by countries to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) identified 4,323 cases of wild foods being used in 69 countries, representing 2,822 distinct wild species.
In 24% of cases wild food species were decreasing in abundance, in 8% of cases they were stable and in 7% of cases they were increasing. Trends were unknown in 60% of cases. The main threats to wild food species identified by countries were overex-ploitation (see Aichi Target 12), habitat alteration or loss (see Aichi Target 5), pollution (see Aichi Target 8) and change in land use.13
There are numerous examples of the dispropor-tionate impacts of a decline in ecosystem services on women and girls, although global information is limited. For example, women are more impacted by wetland degradation than men, due their use of wetlands for firewood, handicraft materials, water and herbal medicine.14 Conversely considering gender dimensions in biodiversity management can lead to positive outcomes for biodiversity
and gender equality. Despite important advances in legislation to strengthen women’s land rights, significant gaps between countries and regions remain. To date, 164 countries explicitly recognize women’s rights to own, use, make decisions and use land as collateral on equal terms with men.
However, only 52 countries guarantee these rights both in law and practice.15
More than half (66%) of NBSAPs contain targets related to Aichi Biodiversity Target 14. Of the Parties which have assessed progress towards their national targets, fewer than a third report that they are on track to be met (27%) or exceeded (3%). Another 61% have made progress towards their targets but not at a rate that will allow them to be met; a few report no progress (7%) or that they are moving away from the target (3%). Only about a quarter (24%) of the national targets are similar in scope and level of ambition to the Aichi Target.
Relatively few explicitly refer to taking into account the needs of women, indigenous peoples and local communities and the poor and vulnerable. Only 7%
of reporting Parties have national targets of similar scope and ambition to Aichi Biodiversity Target 14 and are on track to meet them (see bar chart).
Target 6.6 - By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including
mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
Target 15.4 - By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development
Figure 14.2. Water quality regulation, one of nature’s contributions to people, mapped at a global scale.
Water quality regulation, one of nature’s contributions to people, is decomposed into 1) nature’s contribution (in green), here as nitrogen retained by vegetation and avoided being exported to streams (in Kg/year), and 2) people potentially benefiting (in pink), here as the number of people downstream of each pixel of vegetation. Low values of each are translucent, meaning that green shows where nature is contributing with few people benefitting and pink is where many people would benefit but nature is not contributing. High values of both are shown in black, where nature is contributing the most to the greatest number of people.11
99 Strategic Goal D: Target 14 – Ecosystem services
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
The colour bars show the percentage of Parties reporting a given level of progress towards their national targets. (Blue: exceeds target; Green: on track; Yellow: some progress; Red: no change;
Purple: moving away from target). The intensity of the colour indicates alignment of national targets with the Aichi Target (Darker colours indicate close alignment).
Assessment of progress towards national targets
Box 14.1. Examples of national progress
ɠ Costa Rica: Through a payment for ecosystem services programme economic incentives are provided to property owners with forests that provide ecosystem services. Between 2014 and 2018, contracts covered an average of 245,000 hectares per year. Many of the areas covered were in biological corridors, indigenous territories, and protected areas. The number of women benefiting from this programme increased from 25% in 2016 to 29% in 2017.16
ɠ Pakistan: Through the Billion Trees Afforestation Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one billion seedlings have been planted, contributing to the restoration of 350,000 hectares of forests and degraded lands. In turn this has helped recharge springs and increased the availability of drinking water for local communities. The project has also created thousands of green jobs for the rural poor and has increased the availability of fuelwood. The project will have a positive impact on women, who are responsible for collecting forage, fuelwood and who bring water from springs and wells.17 ɠ Samoa: The village of Vailoa is part of a large mangrove ecosystem in the Vaiusu Bay area
bordering the western edge of the Apia Township. The mangroves ecosystem has been severely degraded and has decreased in size due to urban development and population pressure. The degradation of the mangroves led to significant loss of productive coastal fisheries and a filtering system for run-off into coastal waters. The Vailoa Village Council and Women’s Committee established village rules to prevent further degradation of the mangrove. The United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility supported a biodiversity
baseline audit, a mangrove management plan, and rehabilitation efforts. The project, which was spearheaded by the Women’s Committee, resulted in the establishment of a mangrove protected area that is now the third largest in Samoa. The rehabilitation of the mangroves has replenished fish, mud crab and shellfish populations and generated income for the local community.18 ɠ India and Nepal: Forest management groups in India and Nepal with larger proportions of
women have recorded greater improvements in forest health conditions, and more sustained levels of firewood, a provisioning ecosystem service primarily the responsibility of women.19 Other studies in India and Nepal have found that including women in resource management improves governance and conservation outcomes (regulating and supporting ecosystems services).20 ɠ South Africa: The country has identified 22 strategic water source areas, that supply a
disproportionate amount of mean annual runoff to substantial downstream economies and urban centres. These areas make up only 8% of the land area but provide 50% of the country’s runoff, supporting at least 51% of its population and 64% of its economy. 13% of these areas are under formal protection. As of September 2018, there have been 47 integrated interventions in 5 key rural strategic water source areas. These interventions include a partnership to promote the integration of ecological and built infrastructure to improve water security in the uMngeni catchment which serves Durban and Pietermaritzburg, a programme to conserve the Umzimvubu River system and an improvement plan for the Berg River Catchment, which serves Cape Town and surrounding towns and agricultural areas.21