Using the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems to develop biodiversity indicators

World leaders have committed to the 2020 goal under the Convention on Biological Diversity to improve the status of biodiversity. A suite of biodiversity indicators is currently used to monitor progress towards achieving these targets. Several indicators exist for measuring loss of species diversity and abundance, yet comprehensive indicators measuring change across ecosystems globally are lacking. We fill this gap by developing biodiversity indicators for ecosystems based on the data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Ecosystems (RLE), the global standard for assessing the risks to ecosystems. Our indicators quantify spatial and temporal changes in ri…