Biodiversa+ strategic biodiversity monitoring governance document (Phase II). Recommendations to better harmonise biodiversity monitoring schemes at a transnational scale

This report presents key results, findings and recommendations developed under Biodiversa+ in its two first years regarding development and harmonisation of transnational biodiversity monitoring schemes. Although a significant amount of work lies ahead within the partnership, already the two first years have provided valuable lessons to be considered while developing transnational biodiversity monitoring in the European context: ● Biodiversity monitoring must meet specific needs to be effective. Building the relevant framework to identify these needs, i.e. identify actors who use biodiversity monitoring results and compile their use cases, is a necessary step to properly set biodiversity monitoring priorities. This includes identifying needs for harmonising and development of common indicators that can be communicated from local to global scales. ● The establishment of common biodiversity monitoring frameworks is essential for effective mainstreaming of existing biodiversity data and emerging tools (i.e. novel technologies) into policy. Overcoming this constraint requires the deployment of collaboration tools and effective capacity building efforts. Such a collaborative approach helps to ensure data quality, interoperability, and stakeholder engagement. The proposed harmonisation framework aims to align stakeholder interests, foster collaboration, facilitate data sharing, and promote effective biodiversity monitoring across various scales. ● For a better use of outputs from biodiversity monitoring schemes by end-users (both public and private), it is necessary to design full workflows from biodiversity observations, via data processing and towards the uptake of such information in decision making processes. Such workflows are ideally implemented via a federated approach, involving (multiple centres of) experts, research infrastructures and actors in policy making and businesses. ● In terms of governance, each country (or sub-national region) should promote the establishment of a biodiversity monitoring coordination centre. When a more complex structure is not feasible, as a minimum requirement, well-resourced focal points with a comprehensive overview of the national or subnational biodiversity monitoring systems should be in place to allow for efficient transnational cooperation. Biodiversa+ will identify steps towards setting up national and sub-national centres and develop a detailed vision, functions, and a funding model in the coming years. ● The Biodiversa+ biodiversity monitoring pilots have demonstrated that when developing new monitoring schemes at the transnational scale, several new operational issues and bottlenecks emerge and need to be addressed and solved. For instance, in monitoring involving physical samples that need to be transported and analysed in a centralised laboratory (e.g. soil biodiversity monitoring), the monitoring scheme will have to overcome hurdles related to national rules for collecting, sending and receiving of these samples. New schemes should be built on and learn from the experiences of existing transnational monitoring schemes.