Biodiversity is presently a minor consideration in environmental policy. It has been regarded as too broad and vague a concept to be applied to real‐world regulatory and management problems. This problem can be corrected if biodiversity is recognized as an end in itself, and if measurable indicators can be selected to assess the status of biodiversity over time. Biodiversity, as presently understood, encompasses multiple levels of biological organization. In this paper, I expand the three primary attributes of biodiversity recognized by Jerry Franklin — composition, structure, and function—into a nested hierarchy that incorporates elements of each attribute at four levels of organization: regional landscape, community‐ecosystem, population‐species, and genetic. Indicators of each attribute in terrestrial ecosystems, at the four levels of organization, are identified for environmental monitoring purposes. Projects to monitor biodiversity will benefit from a direct linkage to long‐term ecological research and a commitment to test hypotheses relevant to biodiversity conservation. A general guideline is to proceed from the top down, beginning with a coarse‐scale inventory of landscape pattern, vegetation, habitat structure, and species distributions, then overlaying data on stress levels to identify biologically significant areas at high risk of impoverishment. Intensive research and monitoring can be directed to high‐risk ecosystems and elements of biodiversity, while less intensive monitoring is directed to the total landscape (or samples thereof). In any monitoring program, particular attention should be paid to specifying the questions that monitoring is intended to answer and validating the relationships between indicators and the components of biodiversity they represent.

We assess progress toward the protection of 50% of the terrestrial biosphere to address the species-extinction crisis and conserve a global ecological heritage for future generations. Using a map of Earth's 846 terrestrial ecoregions, we show that 98 ecoregions (12%) exceed Half Protected; 313 ecoregions (37%) fall short of Half Protected but have sufficient unaltered habitat remaining to reach the target; and 207 ecoregions (24%) are in peril, where an average of only 4% of natural habitat remains. We propose a Global Deal for Nature—a companion to the Paris Climate Deal—to promote increased habitat protection and restoration, national- and ecoregion-scale conservation strategies, and the empowerment of indigenous peoples to protect their sovereign lands. The goal of such an accord would be to protect half the terrestrial realm by 2050 to halt the extinction crisis while sustaining human livelihoods.

Abstract. Ecosystem management is management driven by explicit goals, executed by policies, protocols, and practices, and made adaptable by monitoring and research based on our best understanding of the ecological interactions and processes necessary to sustain ecosystem composition, structure, and function.In recent years, sustainability has become an explicitly stated, even legislatively mandated, goal of natural resource management agencies. In practice, however, management approaches have often focused on maximizing short-term yield and economic gain rather than long-term sustainability. Several obstacles contribute to this disparity, including: ( 1) inadequate information on the biological diversity of environments; (2) widespread ignorance of the function and dynamics of ecosystems; (3) the openness and interconnectedness of ecosystems on scales that transcend management boundaries; (4) a prevailing public perception that the immediate economic and social value of supposedly renewable resources outweighs the risk of future ecosystem damage or the benefits of alternative management approaches. The goal of ecosystem management is to overcome these obstacles.Ecosystem management includes the following elements: (1) Sustainability. Ecosystem management does not focus primarily on "deliverables" but rather regards intergenerational sustainability as a precondition. (2) Vol. 6, No.3 goals that specify future processes and outcomes necessary for sustainability. (3) Sound ecological models and understanding. Ecosystem management relies on research performed at all levels of ecological organization. (4) Complexity and connectedness. Ecosystem management recognizes that biological diversity and structural complexity strengthen ecosystems against disturbance and supply the genetic resources necessary to adapt to long-term change.(5) The dynamic character of ecosystems. Recognizing that change and evolution are inherent in ecosystem sustainability, ecosystem management avoids attempts to "freeze" ecosystems in a particular state or configuration. (6) Context and scale. Ecosystem processes operate over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and their behavior at any given location is greatly affected by surrounding systems. Thus, there is no single appropriate scale or time frame for management. (7) Humans as ecosystem components. Ecosystem management values the active role of humans in achieving sustainable management goals. (8) Adaptability and accountability. Ecosystem management acknowledges that current knowledge and paradigms of ecosystem function are provisional, incomplete, and subject to change. Management approaches must be viewed as hypotheses to be tested by research and monitoring programs.The following are fundamental scientific precepts for ecosystem management.(1) Spatial and temporal scale are critical. Ecosystem function includes inputs, outputs, cycling of materials and energy, and the interactions of organisms. Boundaries defined for the study or management of one process are often inapp...

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