Data on Indicators used in Southeast Asian nations’ 4th and 5th National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Progress on National Biodiversity Indicator Reporting and Prospects for Filling Indicator Gaps in Southeast Asia ” (Han et al., 2020). We examined quantifiable information about biodiversity indicators from the most recent two national reports (i.e., 4th in 2010 and 5th in 2015) to the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by the 10-member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This article presents the number of indicators, their level of development, and detailed lists of indicators for each country, and demonstrates general improvement in indicator use by the highest level of government reporting about implementation of the CBD at the national scale.


Specifications
Environmental Science (General) Specific subject area 1. Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law 2. Nature and Landscape Conservation Type of data Table  How data were acquired Literature review and document analysis Data format Raw Analyzed Parameters for data collection Parties to the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are required to report every 5 years on both the actions implementing the Convention and the effectiveness of these actions (CBD Article 26). These reports represent the highest level of national government reporting on biodiversity. We chose 10 ASEAN Member States to examine their national reports for this study. Description of data collection We reviewed the 4th and 5th national reports presented in 2010 and 2015, respectively, to the CBD from the governments of 10 ASEAN Member States (one Southeast Asian country, Timor Leste, is not an ASEAN Member State and is excluded from our analysis), and extracted quantifiable information regarding the use of biodiversity. We identified indicators, counted their numbers, evaluated their level of development, and presented the detailed list of these indicators for each country by Tables  included in this  Value of the data • The Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD's) adoption of the 2020 Aichi Targets called for the use of indicators to monitor biodiversity and report conservation progress. Unfortunately, appropriate indicators are hard to find in many countries due to a lack of underlying data and limited capacity to generate indicators. National Reports to the CBD represent the highest level of government reporting about implementation of the CBD and contain the most comprehensive biodiversity information available at national scales. As such, they are potentially valuable sources for biodiversity indicators. However, these reports are written by Parties independently, in varying formats, and with extensive contextual information associated in which indicators are presented in different ways. Extracting biodiversity indicators from the National Reports requires delicate data-mining, proper information categorizing, and understanding linkages between indicators and conservation targets; performing this exercise would be a time-consuming activity for general conservation practitioners. The data presented in this article provide complete and explicit lists of indicators used in the 10 Southeast Asian's ASEAN members' two most recent national reports to the CBD. • These data can serve as a reference and benchmark for these 10 CBD parties, as well as their neighboring countries while compiling their future national reports. • These data enable evaluation of biodiversity indicator use, demonstrate the change as well as commonality of indicator uses in Southeast Asia, and thus will assist further research identifying existing indicator gaps and opportunities for indicator use in the region.  Quantitative Trend  15  22  Singapore  Descriptive  0  0  Singapore  Subnational  0  0  Singapore  Quantitative Baseline  7  7  Singapore  Quantitative Trend  1  3  Thailand  Descriptive  0  0  Thailand  Subnational  3  0  Thailand  Quantitative Baseline  18  8  Thailand  Quantitative Trend  3  18  Vietnam  Descriptive  0  2  Vietnam  Subnational  5  2  Vietnam  Quantitative Baseline  12  14  Vietnam Quantitative Trend 6 18 • These data can catalyze further measures to improve national-level data coverage and monitoring capacity to generate indicators, facilitating evidence-based policy-making. Table 1 summarizes the type (i.e., level of development) and number of biodiversity indicators used in 10 ASEAN nations' 4th (2010) and 5th (2015) National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Table 2 is the detailed list of biodiversity indicators used in Brunei Darussalam's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 3 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Cambodia's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 2 List of Indicators used in Brunei Darussalam's 4th and 5th National Reports [ 4 , 5 ].  Table 4 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Indonesia's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 5 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Laos' 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 6 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Malaysia's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 7 is the detailed list of Indicators used in Myanmar's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 8 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Philippines' 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 9 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Singapore's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 10 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Thailand's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators. Table 11 is the detailed list of biodiversity Indicators used in Vietnam's 4th and 5th National Reports and the type of these indicators.

Experimental Design, Materials, and Methods
Parties to the CBD are required to report every 5 years on both the actions taken toward implementation of the Convention and the effectiveness of these actions (CBD Article 26). These Table 3 List of Indicators used in Cambodia's 4th and 5th National Reports [ 6 , 7 ]. Forest cover (1965,1992,1996 We extracted quantifiable information regarding the use of biodiversity indicator by the governments of 10 ASEAN Member States (one Southeast Asian country, Timor Leste, is not an ASEAN Member State and is excluded from our analysis) in their 4th and 5th national reports to the CBD, presented in 2010 and 2015, respectively. We identified indicators, counted their numbers, evaluated their level of development, and presented the detailed list of these indicators for each country. Table 4 List of Indicators used Indonesia's 4th and 5th National Reports [ 8 , 9 ].   Climate change Descriptive

Cambodia, 4th National Report
Biodiversity information system Table 5 List of Indicators used in Laos' 4th and 5th National Reports [ 10 , 11 ].

Malaysia, 4th National Report
Iconic species: population and protection action plans of Asian elephants by region Baseline Iconic species: population and protection action plan of orangutans by park Baseline Iconic species: population of proboscis monkeys Trend Year gazetted for selected parks (1964,1979,1984   The 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. We downloaded the most recent two national reports (i.e., 4th submitted in 2010 and 5th submitted in 2015) to the CBD by these countries' national government [available at 2 and 3 respectively], and extracted the quantifiable information on biodiversity indicators.
We defined indicators as any descriptive or quantitative metric that was meant to convey information about a biodiversity issue. Some countries reported the trend in gross domestic product and human population as pressures, but we do not count these as specific indicators for this dataset because they provide contextual information and do not necessarily lead to biodiversity threats. In each report we counted the number of indicators presented, as well as their level of development, defined as whether they represent nonquantitative descriptive statements, quantitative baseline (i.e., snapshot data resulting from a single measurement), or quantitative trends measured in multiple years. In some cases, quantitative baseline or trend data were presented for a region of the country or specific sites instead of the entire country; we categorized these cases as subnational indicators. Table 1 summarizes the type (i.e., level of development) and number of indicators used in the 10 ASEAN nations' 4th (2010) and 5th (2015) National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Table 2 -11 are the detailed list of Indicators used and their level of development in each country's 4th and 5th National Reports. Table 8 List of Indicators used in Philippines' 4th and 5th National Reports [ 16 , 17 ].     Table 9 List of Indicators used in Singapore's 4th and 5th National Reports [ 18 , 19 ].

Singapore, 4th National Report
Type Indicator