A large number of experts participated in the extensive consultation process that led to the drafting of
these guidelines, prepared at the request of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Conference of Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention. The guidelines are designed as a series of tools to assist those who urgently need them and/or those with limited means and capacities to undertake, as appropriate, rapid inventories, assessments and monitoring of the biological diversity of inland waters and coastal and marine ecosystems near shore. They mainly take species into account (e.g. assessment of taxa) but also include some tools that are suitable for assessment at the level of habitats/ecosystems. Guidelines for assessing the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the biological diversity value of these ecosystems are being prepared to complement current methods and will be published separately. It is important to consider these guidelines as another way to obtain information in addition to that available in current and local knowledge and that should be evaluated and used at the initial stage of any study.