As the impacts of anthropogenic activities increase in both magnitude and extent, biodiversity is coming under increasing pressure. Scientists and policy makers are frequently hampered by a lack of information on biological systems, particularly information relating to long-term trends. Such information is crucial to developing an understanding as to how biodiversity may respond to global environmental change. Knowledge gaps make it very difficult to develop effective policies and legislation to reduce and reverse biodiversity loss. This book explores the gap between global commitments to biodiversity conservation, and local action to track biodiversity change and implement conservation action. High profile international political commitments to improve biodiversity conservation, such as the targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, require innovative and rapid responses from both science and policy. This multi-disciplinary perspective highlights barriers to conservation and offers novel solutions to evaluating trends in biodiversity at multiple scales.

"In 2010, the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 in Nagoya, Japan. This Strategic Plan includes a 'shared vision, a mission, strategic goals and 20 ambitious yet achievable targets, collectively known as the Aichi Targets.' The vision is that 'By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.' The Global Biodiversity Outlook 4 is an assessment of progress towards attaining the Strategic Plan roughly halfway between its adoption in 2010 and the deadline for achieving most of the Aichi Targets in 2020. This Global Biodiversity Outlook 4 (GBO-4) Technical Report provides a detailed assessment of the evidence base underlying the conclusions in the main Global Biodiversity Outlook 4 report"--