Abstract

Four supplementary operational indicators are established to support national policy makers on nature conservation: Natural Capital Index (NCI-framework); Species Group Trend Index; Red List Indicator; Policy Target Achievement Indicator on Ecological Main Network. The Natural Capital Index provides information on state of natural and agricultural ecosystems and the extent into which men affect them in modern, industrial times. The NCI is defined as the product of the size of an area and its quality.Ecosystem quantity is defined as a percentage of the total considered area. Ecosystem quality is defined as ratio between the current state and a particular baseline state, also expressed as percentage. NCI can be determined for the entire country, for physical-geographical regions and also for specific habitat types such as forests, heather, dunes, wetlands and agriculture. The Species Group Trend Index and Red List Indicator provide supplementary information on the species level. The former represents the trends of species groups since 1950. The latter is a measure of the degree in which species are threatened and face extinction. The Policy Target Achievement Indicator provides information of the degree in which specific policy targets are met on the realisation of the Ecological Main Network in terms of area and quality. This indicator is not yet operational and will be further developed with the Expertise Centre LNV.