Parties and observers to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are invited to peer review the draft indicator methodology for measuring progress on the national implementation of the CBD Gender Plan of Action.

Experts at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) have worked with partners to develop a new draft methodology for an indicator that will support Parties to comprehensively measure progress towards national implementation of the Gender Plan of Action. Now, this draft methodology needs to be peer reviewed. We invite all Parties and observers to provide their inputs by 23 August, to help ensure that implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF, or the Biodiversity Plan) empowers women and girls and reduces gender inequalities by 2030.

Paving the way for gender-responsive implementation of the Biodiversity Plan

The Biodiversity Plan acknowledges that the “successful implementation of the Framework will depend on ensuring gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and on reducing inequalities”. To achieve this, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted Target 23, focussed on ensuring gender equality in the implementation of the Framework through a gender-responsive approach. Parties also adopted the CBD Gender Plan of Action 2023-2030, which through its implementation will significantly contribute to the achievement of Target 23.

How will this indicator support effective monitoring towards the achievement of Target 23?

Indicators are included in the monitoring framework for the Biodiversity Plan to help measure progress against its goals and targets. Headline indicators and binary indicators are a fundamental set of high-level measures, which countries are required to use as a minimum, while component and complementary indicators are additional indicators that provide more detailed insights on progress towards the goals and targets of the KM-GBF.

To help track progress on Target 23, the monitoring framework for the Biodiversity Plan includes a component indicator on the national implementation of the Gender Plan of Action. The Gender Plan of Action includes three expected outcomes and a set of objectives and actions to support gender-responsive implementation, addressing all key elements covered in Target 23. This component indicator is therefore crucial in the monitoring framework, enabling Parties to track progress towards Target 23 more accurately and providing valuable information that can feed into the binary indicator for this target. However, when the monitoring framework was adopted, the indicator on the national implementation of the Gender Plan of Action lacked a developed methodology that is necessary for countries to start monitoring and reporting on progress.

How are UNEP-WCMC and Women4Biodiversity supporting the co-development of an indicator methodology?

UNEP-WCMC and non-profit organisation Women4Biodiversity are supporting the co-development of an indicator methodology on the national implementation of the Gender Plan of Action. This indicator methodology will be made available at the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP16) in October. The work is being financially supported by SwedBio, a development programme at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

As a starting point, UNEP-WCMC's technical experts developed a draft methodology, which includes 18 survey questions based on the 18 indicative actions outlined in the Gender Plan of Action for which Parties are the lead responsible actor. The team have also developed an index-calculation methodology that enables Parties to quantify their progress towards the national implementation of the Gender Plan of Action, based on their responses to the 18 survey questions.

Parties and observers actively contributed towards the draft methodology during two online information sessions, and at an in-person meeting in Nairobi prior to the 26^th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice. Parties including South Africa, Vanuatu, the Republic of Korea, France, Mozambique and the United Kingdom have also provided substantive inputs on the draft methodology through one-on-one consultation sessions, as well as piloting the methodology and its use at the national level. These invaluable contributions have supported the ongoing co-development of the draft indicator methodology.

How to review the draft indicator methodology

To further progress the co-development of a robust methodology for this indicator on national implementation of the Gender Plan of Action, and to ensure it meets the requirements of all Parties, we are inviting Parties and observers to peer review the updated draft indicator methodology by 23 August 2024. Feedback submitted by Parties and observers will be critical to meet the required indicator criteria agreed by Parties to the CBD in December 2022.

Parties and observers are invited to participate in this peer review by following the instructions below. Feedback will be used to further refine and finalise the indicator methodology in time for COP16. 

To submit feedback:  

• Download the draft methodology at: http://wcmc.io/T23_GPA_indicator
• Download the tool for testing the methodology and calculating index scores at: http://wcmc.io/GPA_index_calculation_tool
• Download the peer review template at: http://wcmc.io/peer_review_template

Please use the peer review template to provide feedback on the draft methodology and calculation tool. Submissions should be sent to ayesha.wijesekera@unep-wcmc.org by 23 August 2024.

Main image: Anindya Phani / Bioversity International via Flickr