Best Value and Biodiversity in Scotland: A HANDBOOK OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR PUBLIC BODIES
CHAPTER 6 Best Value Performance Indicators for Biodiversity
To ensure that service delivery furthers the conservation of biodiversity, and meets the duty set out in the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, long-term progress needs to be measured using a clear set of indicators.
Indicators are vital as they tell us if things are moving in the direction we want, and if our actions and policies are being successful. While a range of indicators on biodiversity already exists or is under development, these do not currently enable local authorities to measure their performance in relation to biodiversity at local level. Local authorities will need to consider their own approaches to measuring their progress in implementing biodiversity conservation within best value, and this chapter highlights some sources authorities could draw on in doing this.
WHY ARE BIODIVERSITY INDICATORS FOR SCOTLAND IMPORTANT?
The maintenance of biodiversity is a measure of the state of the environment. A wider suite of biodiversity indicators is needed for Scotland. These may differ from those at the UK level, reflecting the need for indicators highlighting the uniqueness of Scotland's biodiversity resource. Although socio-economic and ecological indicators are being developed nationally for the SBS, 20 the extent to which these can be used locally is also being investigated.
The Audit Scotland 21 performance indicators for local authority services do not currently include any for biodiversity. However, the SBS contains a commitment to develop socio-economic and ecological indicators that will demonstrate how the SBS, and the actions in the SBS's Implementation Plans, are being delivered. The first set of draft indicators was launched in May 2004.
BIODIVERSITY AS AN INDICATOR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Meeting the Needs... Priorities, Actions and Targets for Sustainable Development, 22 which was published in 2002, sets out the Scottish Executive's vision for sustainable development, and lists 24 sustainable development indicators for Scotland. The indicator on biodiversity is "the percentage of UK Biodiversity Action Plan species and habitats that are identified as stable or increasing". The Scottish Executive published Indicators of Sustainable Development for Scotland: Progress Report 2004 23 in early 2004.
LIBRARY OF LOCAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
In England and Wales, the Audit Commission and the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) have designed a "library" of ready-made performance indicators for local authorities that:
prevent authorities having to reinvent the wheel;
encourage consistency of definitions and enable comparisons of performance to be made between authorities;
provide information on who's measuring what to facilitate benchmarking; and
develop performance indicators that are meaningful to local people.
Please check the webpage 24 for the full list.
