Conserving life-support systems needs a combination of preventing pollution, restoring and maintaining the integrity of the Earth's ecosystems, and developing a comprehensive system of protected areas. Conserving biodiversity requires these measures plus action to restore and maintain species and genetic stocks.

Primary indicators measure the condition of the ecosystem or species concerned. Secondary indicators measure human impacts. Tertiary indicators measure actions to reduce impacts. Whether the indicator is primary, secondary or tertiary is shown by a number in brackets.

l. Progress in preventing pollution

• Annual emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, CFCs, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides: total, per capita, and per unit of GDP. [2]
• River quality: dissolved oxygen; nitrate concentration. [l]
• Wastewater treatment: percentage of population served by wastewater treatment plants (primary, secondary and tertiary). [3]
• Industrial accidents: number, number of deaths, per unit of GDP. [2]

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2. Progress in restoring and maintaining the integrity of ecosystems

• Percentages of land area that are natural, modified, cultivated, built, degraded. [l]
• A subset of the above would be percentage of land under forest, and percentages of forest land that are natural (old growth), modified, planted, degraded. [l]
• Percent of natural and modified ecosystems or vegetation types in fragments greater than l0,000 hectares. [l]

3. Progress in developing a comprehensive system of protected areas

• Percentage of each ecological region that is covered by protected areas. [3]

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4. Progress in restoring and maintaining species and genetic stocks

• Number of species, and percent threatened with extinction, percent threatened with extirpation, percent with stable or increasing populations, and percent with significantly declining populations. [l]
• Number of endemic species, and percent threatened with extinction [l], and percent in protected areas. [3]
• Percent of threatened species with viable populations in ex situ facilities. [3]
• Domesticated species diversity index (number of crop and livestock species raised in a region as percent of number grown 10 or 50 years previously). [l]
• Domesticated varietal index (number of varieties of each crop and breeds of each livestock species raised in a region as percent of number l0 or 50 years previously). [l]
• Crop and livestock uniformity index (relatedness of crop varieties and livestock breeds). [l]
• Percent traditional varieties in ex situ collections. [3]
• Genebank status index (percent of collection regenerated within past 15 years). [3]

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