How to develop and use biodiversity indicators with the DPSIR framework
"What gets measured gets managed" is especially true for biodiversity. Unlike financial metrics that have standardised accounting rules, biodiversity measurement is complex, context-dependent and still evolving. Yet without measurement organisations cannot track progress, demonstrate results, make informed decisions or be held accountable for their commitments. ISO 17298 places significant emphasis on indicators – the metrics that translate biodiversity objectives into measurable progress.
Well-designed indicators transform abstract biodiversity goals into concrete, trackable outcomes. They enable adaptive management by showing what's working and what isn't. They support communication by providing evidence of performance. Most importantly, they ensure that biodiversity approaches deliver genuine impact rather than merely create the appearance of action.
What makes a good indicator
ISO 17298 requires organisations to define at least one indicator for each planned action. But not just any metric qualifies as a good indicator. The standard specifies several essential characteristics:
Characterised within the DPSIR framework, which we'll explore in detail shortly. This characterisation helps organisations understand what type of change they're measuring and how it connects to actual biodiversity outcomes.
Measurable through observation, calculation or description. If you cannot reliably measure an indicator, it cannot fulfill its purpose. Measurability might be quantitative (numeric), qualitative (descriptive) or binary (yes/no).
Clear and easy to understand, interpret, present and communicate. Indicators should be comprehensible to diverse audiences – from board members to operational staff to external stakeholders. Overly complex indicators limit their utility.
Relevant with respect to both action objectives and overall biodiversity objectives. Each indicator should clearly connect to what you're trying to achieve. Irrelevant indicators waste resources and create measurement burden without supporting decision-making.
Appropriate to help support decision-making, actions and continual improvement. Good indicators inform management decisions about whether to continue current approaches, adjust strategies or try different tactics.
Understanding the DPSIR framework
The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, detailed in ISO 17298's Annex B, provides a conceptual model for understanding and measuring the causal chain linking human activities to biodiversity outcomes. Understanding this framework is essential for designing effective indicators.
Drivers (also called indirect drivers, underlying causes or root causes) are the fundamental human activities or trends that lead to pressures on biodiversity. Drivers include things like population growth, economic development, consumption patterns, agricultural demand, urbanisation or market forces. For a business, drivers might include production targets, customer demand or growth strategies.
Pressures (also called direct drivers) are the specific elements of activities or products that directly interact with biodiversity. The standard notes these from an organisationalperspective. Pressures include habitat conversion, resource extraction, pollution emissions, introduction of invasive species or climate change contributions. These are what the IPBES identifies as the five main drivers of biodiversity loss discussed in Article 3.
State represents the condition of biodiversity and ecosystem services at a point in time. State indicators measure things like species population levels, habitat extent and quality, ecosystem function integrity or ecosystem service availability. State changes result from accumulated pressures over time.
Impacts are changes to biodiversity or ecosystem services, whether adverse or beneficial, resulting from pressures. Impacts reflect how state changes affect the functioning and resilience of ecosystems and the services they provide.
Response represents actions taken to address drivers, pressures, state changes or impacts. Response indicators measure implementation of actions and policies aimed at improving biodiversity outcomes.
The framework shows how business activities (drivers) create specific mechanisms of harm or benefit (pressures) that change biodiversity conditions (state) with ecological and human consequences (impacts), which organisations respond to through management actions (response).
A practical example
Consider a hypothetical forestry operation to illustrate DPSIR relationships:
Driver: Timber demand drives production targets, which drive harvesting intensity and expansion plans.
Pressure: Harvesting operations create multiple pressures – tree removal, soil disturbance, road construction fragmenting habitat, equipment noise disturbing wildlife and introduction of non-native species through human access.
State: Forest biodiversity state changes – native tree species abundance declines, old-growth habitat area decreases, forest interior species lose habitat, edge-dwelling species increase and invasive species establish.
Impact: These state changes create impacts – reduced carbon storage affecting climate regulation, increased soil erosion affecting water quality, decline in forest-dependent species affecting ecosystem resilience and reduced forest product availability affecting local communities.
Response: The organisation responds with actions – implementing reduced-impact logging techniques, establishing protected areas within forest concessions, controlling invasive species, creating wildlife corridors and restoring degraded areas.
Selecting indicator types
Organisations should use multiple indicator types to create a comprehensive picture of performance:
Driver indicators measure root causes of biodiversity impacts. For businesses, these often relate to growth, consumption or production intensity. Examples include revenue per unit of land occupied, production volume growth rates or resource consumption per product unit. Driver indicators help organisations understand whether fundamental business trajectories are compatible with biodiversity goals.
Pressure indicators measure specific mechanisms affecting biodiversity. These are often the most actionable for businesses. Examples include hectares of habitat converted, tons of pesticides applied, cubic meters of water extracted, kilograms of pollutants discharged ornumber of invasive species introductions. Pressure indicators directly link to management controls.
State indicators measure biodiversity and ecosystem conditions. Examples include number of species present on site, population sizes of key species, habitat area and connectivity, ecosystem function measures (like soil health or water infiltration rates) or ecosystem service availability. State indicators show ultimate environmental outcomes but often require ecological expertise to measure.
Impact indicators measure ecological consequences of state changes. These might include ecosystem service provision levels, climate regulation capacity, population viability of affected species or effects on human communities dependent on ecosystem services. Impact indicators connect biodiversity changes to broader ecological and social significance.
Response indicators measure implementation of actions. Examples include area restored, percentage of sustainable sourcing achieved, number of suppliers meeting biodiversity standards, employees trained on biodiversity practices or resources invested in conservation. Response indicators demonstrate effort but don't guarantee outcomes – they should be balanced with state or impact indicators.
Setting targets and deadlines
For each indicator, the standard recommends defining a target and deadline for achieving it. Targets specify desired indicator values – "increase native plant species richness to 50 species," "reduce pesticide use by 80%," "restore 100 hectares of riparian habitat," or "achieve 100% certified sustainable sourcing."
Deadlines create urgency and accountability. Biodiversity recovery often takes years or decades, so deadlines should reflect realistic ecological timescales while maintaining momentum. Consider interim milestones – "restore 25 hectares by year 2, 50 by year 4, 100 by year 7" – that enable progress tracking and course correction.
Targets should be ambitious enough to drive meaningful change while achievable given resources and constraints. Overly cautious targets waste opportunities for impact. Unrealistic targets set up failure and demotivate teams.
Measurement frequency and timing
ISO 17298 requires documenting indicators at "regular intervals" specific to each indicator and relevant for the indicator's time scale, objective deadlines, action timescales and natural cyclic variations.
Some indicators need frequent measurement. Pollution discharge might be monitored continuously or daily. Resource consumption might be tracked monthly. These high-frequency indicators enable rapid response to problems.
Other indicators need less frequent measurement. Species population surveys might occur annually or seasonally, timed to breeding or migration patterns. Habitat extent might be assessed every few years using remote sensing. Ecosystem function measures might be evaluated periodically based on recovery timescales.
Timing matters for ecological indicators. Bird surveys during breeding season capture different information than migration counts. Plant diversity assessments after flowering detect species that leaf surveys might miss. Align measurement timing with ecological cycles for accuracy.
Practical measurement approaches
Organisations need not conduct all measurements in-house. Partner with universities, conservation organisations or consultants who have ecological expertise. Citisen science programs can provide cost-effective species monitoring. Remote sensing technologies increasingly enable landscape-level habitat tracking.
Start with indicators you can measure reliably with available resources, then build more sophisticated measurement as capacity grows. Basic indicators measured consistently are more valuable than sophisticated indicators measured inconsistently or inaccurately.
Use existing data where possible. Environmental monitoring data, satellite imagery, government ecological surveys and NGO assessments may provide indicator data without additional collection effort. Contribute your data to broader biodiversity databases to support landscape-level understanding.
From measurement to management
Indicators' purpose isn't just reporting – it's driving performance improvement. Choose indicators that inform decisions, track progress toward objectives, identify problems early, support continual improvement and communicate performance credibly. The best indicator framework balances comprehensiveness with simplicity, scientific rigor with practical feasibility, outcome focus with process tracking and internal management needs with external accountability expectations. Ultimately, indicators transform biodiversity approaches from good intentions into accountable performance management systems that deliver measurable results for both nature and business.
