Operationalizing the NFF for islands - the Island Nature Futures Framework

Islands are global hotspots of biological and cultural diversity, harboring 20% of all biota worldwide and 27% of languages, both with exceptionally high degrees of endemism. At the same time, this diversity is in peril from direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, including climate change impacts (e.g., sea-level rise), biological invasions, land and sea use change or direct alteration of the natural systems. Due to this particular relevance for global biocultural biodiversity, islands play a crucial role in the successful implementation of the global biodiversity targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) that aims to “value, conserve, restore and wisely use biodiversity by 2050, by maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people”. This vision is supported by 23 mid-term targets until 2030 that aim to “reduce threats to biodiversity”, “meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit sharing”, and the development of “tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming”.

Here we will operationalize the NAture Futures Framework (NFF) within an island context, developing the Island Nature Futures Framework (INFF). The INFF will put a particular focus on the unique situation of islands worldwide and their challenges towards a sustainable and positive future for nature and people. We will provide guidance on how to start the scenario development process within the island/archipelago context that captures the diverse voices from the island community. Further, we discuss how the goals and targets of the KM-GBF can be translated to the island/archipelago context and which aspects of the complex social-ecological island system are likely to be affected by the implementation of these goals and targets. A final focus will be put on how progress towards the goals and targets under the different identified pathways can be effectively tracked, what monitoring (particularly focusing on the EBV and ESSV framework) and reporting schemes are available and what sectors and stakeholders need to be included to ensure successful implementation.