Recognizing the imperative need for biodiversity protection, the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) has recently established new targets towards 2020, the so-called
Aichi targets, and updated proposed sets of indicators to quantitatively monitor the progress
towards these targets. Remote sensing has been increasingly contributing to timely, accurate,
and cost-effective assessment of biodiversity-related characteristics and functions
during the last years. However, most relevant studies constitute individual research efforts,
rarely related with the extraction of widely adopted CBD biodiversity indicators. Furthermore,
systematic operational use of remote sensing data by managing authorities has still
been limited. In this study, the Aichi targets and the related CBD indicators whose monitoring
can be facilitated by remote sensing are identified. For each headline indicator a
number of recent remote sensing approaches able for the extraction of related properties
are reviewed. Methods cover a wide range of fields, including: habitat extent and condition
monitoring; species distribution; pressures from unsustainable management, pollution and
climate change; ecosystem service monitoring; and conservation status assessment of protected
areas. The advantages and limitations of different remote sensing data and algorithms
are discussed. Sorting of the methods based on their reported accuracies is attempted, when
possible. The extensive literature survey aims at reviewing highly performing methods that
can be used for large-area, effective, and timely biodiversity assessment, to encourage the
more systematic use of remote sensing solutions in monitoring progress towards the Aichi
targets, and to decrease the gaps between the remote sensing and management communities.