IUCN SSC SPECIES MONITORING SPECIALIST GROUP
Biodiversity data for conservation
COMING SOON : Biodiversity Monitoring Guidance Note series on methods and tools!



1. IUCN Guidelines for Planning and Monitoring Corporate Biodiversity Performance
The IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group and the IUCN Global Business and Biodiversity Programme have produced Guidelines for Planning and Monitoring Corporate Biodiversity Performance. The Guidelines were developed by IUCN teams in collaboration with business partners, especially Nespresso, Boskalis and Alcoa.
 
The Guidelines provide a four-stage, science-based approach for developing a corporate biodiversity strategic plan and measuring biodiversity performance across company operations and supply chains. The approach enables companies to be more targeted in their biodiversity focus by identifying the species and habitats important to them and understanding the benefits they provide to people.
 
The Guidelines can be freely downloaded from the IUCN website HERE.

Also see the IUCN press release HERE.

2. Guidelines and Tools for Monitoring Biodiversity: A Selection of Manuals, Guidance and Methods Reviews

 This document provides a bibliography of key materials of use to anyone setting up and implementing a biodiversity monitoring programme, from conservation project managers to businesses measuring their sustainability. The focus is on practical guidelines and tools around the main methods used for monitoring, and scientific reviews focused on material that provides additional case studies of the tools in use and helps understand their applications and uses, advantages and limitations.
iucn_smsg_2025._guidelines_and_tools_for_monitoring_biodiversity_v1.1.pdf
File Size: 579 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File



3. Voluntary Biodiversity Credits: A Guide for Business

These guidelines provide an overview of the rapidly evolving Voluntary Biodiversity Credit markets to help companies make informed decisions. It is one of the products of a collaborative research project, co-led by the Group chair at the University of Lausanne and Adrian Dellecker at IMD - the International Institute for Management Development.  It includes sections on how to identify VBC schemes with suitable systems for monitoring, reporting and verification.

The guidelines can be freely downloaded from the IMD website HERE.



4. Guidance for Implementing a Structured Process for National Wetland Inventory

This guidance document is a publication from the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands. It builds on research by the Species Monitoring Specialist Group on blockages to data flow. The guidance explains the challenges to data access and use for NWational Wetland Inventory, the principles that need to be followed to address those challenges, and key elements that need to be considered
in planning and implementing a structured inventory process.

It can be downloaded from the Ramsar website HERE. 



5. Monitoring Biodiversity at Sea: Discussion paper on advancing standardised biodiversity monitoring for Nature-Positive offshore wind development

This document provides a comprehensive guide to marine biodiversity monitoring to assist project developers, financiers, and
policymakers in creating and maintaining Nature-Positive offshore wind projects. It was produced by the Global Initiative for Nature, Grids and Renewables (GINGR), a collaboration between the Renewables Grid Initiative & IUCN. 

It can be downloaded from the GINGR publications website HERE.