MONITORING, MEASURING, AND TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS NATURE POSITIVE FOR THE OCEAN

The report outlines a framework for companies in the offshore wind, coastal tourism, shipping, and seafood sectors to track their contributions to halting and reversing biodiversity loss. It emphasizes the use of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) to reduce business risks and ensure credible ecological outcomes. The guidance distinguishes between pressure indicators (direct company impacts) and state-of-nature indicators (overall ecosystem health), while advocating for a 'seascape approach' to collective monitoring. It also integrates social dimensions, such as human rights and Indigenous Peoples' rights, as essential components of transformative nature-positive actions.

• Monitoring is essential for companies to verify that nature-positive actions are delivering intended results and to allow for adaptive management to course-correct interventions that are not working.
• The report recommends a five-step journey for companies: identifying impacts, developing an action plan, implementing and monitoring actions, publicly reporting progress, and iteratively adapting the plan.
• Companies should prioritize pressure indicators because they are more directly attributable to company activities, whereas state-of-nature (SoN) indicators are influenced by multiple external drivers, making attribution difficult in marine systems.
• To establish a credible baseline and avoid 'shifting baseline syndrome,' companies should use historical records, Indigenous and local knowledge, or reference ecosystems to identify desired ecological conditions rather than relying solely on recent data.
• The report identifies six primary pressure categories for monitoring: seabed disturbance and disruption of coastal habitat, pollution, invasive species, wild population impact/disruption of wildlife, exploitation of natural resources, and climate change.
• A 'seascape approach' is advocated to address cumulative impacts, as ocean systems are interconnected and site-level monitoring alone is insufficient to capture the full scale of ecosystem health.
• Nature-positive actions must address social dimensions, including human rights, labor rights, and the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, to be credible and effective.
• The report suggests using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) analysis to determine causal linkages between a specific company action and an ecological outcome by comparing an impact site to a control or reference site.
• Technological advancements such as environmental DNA (eDNA), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and remote sensing are highlighted as tools to reduce monitoring costs and improve data collection in hazardous marine environments.

APA

Carrow, A. W., Richardson, M., Thomas-Smyth, A., & Kroner, R. G. (2026). MONITORING, MEASURING, AND TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS NATURE POSITIVE FOR THE OCEAN. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/2487/FINAL_WWF_Monitoring_Measuring_and_Tracking_Progress_7_WkFevHh.1.26.pdf

Chicago

Carrow, Alanna Waldman, Mark Richardson, Alice Thomas-Smyth, and Rachel Golden Kroner. MONITORING, MEASURING, AND TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS NATURE POSITIVE FOR THE OCEAN. WWF International, 2026. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/2487/FINAL_WWF_Monitoring_Measuring_and_Tracking_Progress_7_WkFevHh.1.26.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carrow |first1=Alanna Waldman |last2=Richardson |first2=Mark |last3=Thomas-Smyth |first3=Alice |last4=Kroner |first4=Rachel Golden |title=MONITORING, MEASURING, AND TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS NATURE POSITIVE FOR THE OCEAN |publisher=WWF International |date=June 2026 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/2487/FINAL_WWF_Monitoring_Measuring_and_Tracking_Progress_7_WkFevHh.1.26.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carrow2026monitoring, author = {Carrow, Alanna Waldman and Richardson, Mark and Thomas-Smyth, Alice and Kroner, Rachel Golden}, title = {{MONITORING, MEASURING, AND TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS NATURE POSITIVE FOR THE OCEAN}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/2487/FINAL_WWF_Monitoring_Measuring_and_Tracking_Progress_7_WkFevHh.1.26.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }