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Published February 14, 2017 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Biodiversity data provision and decision-making - addressing the challenges

Creators

  • 1. <div>UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom</div>
  • 2. <div>UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany</div>
  • 3. <div>University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland</div>
  • 4. <div>The Biodiversity Consultancy, Cambridge, United Kingdom</div>
  • 5. <div>German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany</div>
  • 6. <div>National Centre for Flora Conservation/Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil</div>
  • 7. <div>Botanic Garden Meise, Meise, Belgium</div>
  • 8. <div>Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity, Berlin, Germany</div>
  • 9. <div>Commonland, Amsterdam, Netherlands</div>
  • 10. <div>National Institute of Ecology, Choongnam, Seocheon-gun, Maseo-Myeon, Geumgang-ro, Korea, South</div>
  • 11. <div>Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental, Barão Geraldo, Campinas/SP, Brazil</div>
  • 12. <div>Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Bonn, Germany</div>
  • 13. <div>Senckenberg Biodiversität und Klima- Forschungszentrum (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany</div>
  • 14. <div>Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany</div>

Description

Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) are measurements required for study, reporting, and management of biodiversity change. They are being developed to support consistency, from the collection to the reporting of biodiversity data at the national, regional and global scales. However, "EBV stakeholders" need to strike a balance between 'doing innovative research' and 'having positive impact' on biodiversity management decisions. This paper reports on a workshop entitled Identifying joint pathways to address the challenges of biodiversity data provision and decision-making and presents the main workshop's output, a "researcher's brief" entitled Guiding principles for promoting the application of EBVs for current and future needs of decision-makers. These guiding principles are: Speak with a common voice; Clearly define what is an EBV and how it relates to indicators; Engage beyond the research world; Be realistic about what can be done now and later; Define criteria for good EBVs; Use EBV as a clearing house; Convey the limitations of EBVs; Clarify what impact EBVs should have; Be salient, credible, legitimate, iterative; Don't put an EBV skin on everything you do; Don't create too many EBVs; and Don't reduce EBVs to building blocks of indicators. This brief is of relevance to the wider GEO BON (Group on Earth Observation Biodoversity Observation Network) community, and in particular those scientists/researchers interested in the application of EBVs.

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