NbS Triple Win Toolkit: Biodiversity Indicators in Context 39 Almost all funding bodies require some level of monitoring and reporting to meet the grant conditions, but the value of biodiversity monitoring should be understood to be far greater than just as a reporting exercise. Ultimately it is a way of gathering information, and provides context and understanding of the state of biodiversity which is not only informative at the site level, but can be used to support progress against national and even international objectives (see also National biodiversity metrics). At the project level, careful consideration of appropriate monitoring is a vital step in the planning of the project: What are the biodiversity objectives? What monitoring would be required to ensure objectives are being met? Are the activities of the intervention adequate to realise those objectives? What species might be indicative of the desired changes? Over what time frame would monitoring be required to see changes, and to meet the overall objectives? These questions are required to consider what indicators are most appropriate for projects, and also help to frame the biodiversity impacts expected, and support the development of project plans which maximise the potential biodiversity benefits of a triple-win project by thoroughly thinking through the implications and not assuming that actions, such as planting trees, will automaticallybring positive impacts to biodiversity. Value of monitoring In some cases, reporting can be completed using already existing datasets (such as census data, or satellite derived global land cover maps). In many cases reporting can be improved by, or entirely relies on, new and specific data collection. While this may appear to be a burden on a project, it should be seen as an opportunity for greater benefits resulting from the project. Where dedicated surveys and/or technical expertise are required this can bring the additional advantage of building in-country capacity, which is likely to have wider indirect benefits in participating ODA countries beyond the project space and timeline. Depending on the nature of the reporting, monitoring can be a good opportunity to get the local communities involved in the nature recovery work. Not only does this improve people’s engagementwith nature, but it also increases awareness of the project, helpsto embed the project objectives within the local communities, andis likely to improve the chance of successful outcomes. Normalising the process of in-depth consideration of biodiversity indicators within project planning, and consideration of the level of participation within the planning and monitoring process helps with mainstreaming conservation of biodiversity.