Assessing the performance of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in Brazil: a test using two regional-scale indices related to coastal and marine ecosystem conservation

Abstract

One of the main challenges of international environmental agreements is improving relevant policy actions to promote adequate environmental responses. To support the work of decision makers, recent studies have used environmental and social indicators to construct global and regional-scale indices. This study aimed to use the Ocean Health Index and the Management Ranking for Brazilian States to assess Brazil’s performance regarding the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (ABTs) for coastal and marine ecosystems. Thus, six ABTs were matched and their performance was evaluated. These ABTs focused on the following topics: pollution, fish and invertebrate stocks, pressures on coral, threatened species and their conservation, the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks and the national biodiversity strategy and action plan. However, although the indices used showed many pathways to explore how Brazil is performing, it is still complex to evaluate ABTs’ performance regarding coastal and marine ecosystems at a global and regional scale.