Community Based Biodiversity Management Project- Establishing Baseline

One cannot project performance into the future (set targets) without first establishing a baseline. The baseline is the first measurement of an indicator. It sets the current condition against which future change can be tracked. For instance, it helps to inform decisionmakers about current circumstances before embarking on projecting targets for a given program, policy, or project. In this way, the baseline is used to learn about current or recent levels and patterns of performance. Importantly, baselines provide the evidence by which decisionmakers are able to measure subsequent policy, program, or project performance. This book specifically covers: (a) establishing baseline data on indicators; (b) building baseline information; (c) identifying data sources for indicators; (d) designing and comparing data collection methods; (e) the importance of conducting pilots; and (f) data collection, using some developing country experiences.