Evaluating biodiversity: Monitoring and evaluating agricultural landscape biodiversity has been frequently controversial and disputed. MonViA provides an integrated approach to biodiversity monitoring on agricultural land that addresses all aspects of biodiversity (different modules on habitats, landscape elements, genetic resources, fauna, insects and other organisms) at the national and regional landscape spatial scales. With MonViA's two other tools (the question-based monitoring and the citizen science-based monitoring) this monitoring framework will form an integrated monitoring and evaluation framework for biodiversity issues. More specifically, monitoring can support evaluation which addresses the effectiveness of Agri-environmental Measures (AEM) along the following axes:
MonViA’s data on agricultural biodiversity trend monitoring can be used directly and indirectly in evaluation studies. Directly, monitoring data can be used to calculate Impact Indicator 19 (I.19) on ‘Enhancing biodiversity protection: Percentage of species and habitats of Community interest related to agriculture with stable or increasing trends, with a breakdown of the percentage for wild pollinator species’. Indirectly, monitoring data can assist the evaluation of various measures designed to support agricultural biodiversity or farming in Natura 2000 areas. They may not address a specific impact indicator but a broader evaluation question. For example, MonViA’s data on agricultural biodiversity trend monitoring can address evaluation questions related to the contribution of CAP Strategic Plans to sustainability and nature conservation.
In Germany, MonVia complements the national conservation monitoring schemes to offer an integrated monitoring framework. The data and methods of MonVia are a supplement to the corresponding ongoing federal conservation monitoring programme. Thus, there are no particular prerequisites to use the monitoring data when they become publicly available. MonVia’s approach to agricultural biodiversity monitoring may be transferable to the other Member States who have a similar monitoring background and monitoring needs.