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Initial Response to the recommendations of the Quality Assurance Science Panel’s report of a Review of UK biodiversity indicators that provide status and trends for species 2016

Abstract

In 2015-16, Defra commissioned a Quality Assurance Science Panel to provide advice on improvements that might be considered for the species-based indicators in the UK and England biodiversity indicator sets.

The Quality Assurance Science Panel review produced a large number of recommendations (57), which are described in the final report, which was published in 2016.

This paper provides an initial response to the recommendations by the UK Biodiversity Indicators' Steering Group (UKBISG). It focusses on those issues that potentially limit the use of the indicators by making trends unreliable or open to misinterpretation.

The paper sets out an initial indicator-by-indicator response to the recommendations from the Quality Assurance Science Panel, to improve:

  • The quality of the data underpinning the indicators;
  • The indicators’ relevance to policy;
  • The analytical methods used to derive trends;
  • The presentation of the indicators;
  • The interpretation of the indicators (usually requiring research to improve our knowledge so that we can understand what it is telling us).

For further information on the UK Biodiversity Indicators and the latest update, visit the UK Biodiversity Indicators webpage.

Resource type Publication

Topic category Environment

Reference date 2016·11·01

Lineage
Defra commissioned a Quality Assurance Science Panel to provide advice on improvements that could be considered for the species-based indicators in the UK and England biodiversity indicator sets in 2015-16.

Responsible organisation
Communications, JNCC distributor

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence 3.0

Metadata date 2020·04·16

Metadata point of contact
Communications, JNCC

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