A metric for spatially explicit contributions to science-based species targets

The Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will probably include a goal to stabilize and restore the status of species. Its delivery would be facilitated by making the actions required to halt and reverse species loss spatially explicit. Here, the authors develop a species threat abatement and restoration (STAR) metric that is scalable across species, threats and geographies.

STAR quantifies the potential contribution of specific threat abatement and habitat restoration actions, or the sum contribution of multiple actions, to reducing extinction risk. It can be applied at any scale and STAR scores are calculated as a proportion of extinction risk locally, nationally or globally.

While every nation can contribute towards halting biodiversity loss, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Madagascar and Brazil combined have stewardship over 31% of total STAR values for terrestrial amphibians, birds and mammals. Among actions, sustainable crop production and forestry dominate, contributing 41% of total STAR values for these taxonomic groups. Key Biodiversity Areas cover 9% of the terrestrial surface but capture 47% of STAR values.

STAR could support governmental and non-state actors in quantifying their contributions to meeting science-based species targets within the framework.