Creating an Interoperable, Distributed, Web-based Biodiversity Data Portal: The CBMP Data Portal

Arctic biodiversity research and monitoring involves a multitude of networks producing information in diverse formats with minimal integration. While much information is produced by these networks, much of it is inaccessible, not reported or in user-unfriendly formats. New, web-based data management tools have provided an opportunity for innovative approaches to data management, but mostly, the focus has been on meta-data management and discovery. A key objective of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) is to create a publicly accessible, efficient, and transparent platform to house and display information on the status and trends in arctic biodiversity and integrate this information with relevant a-biotic data to display important biodiversity trends and correlate them with possible drivers of these trends.

The CBMP has developed a data portal that is a simple web-based information network that accesses and displays information on a common platform to encourage data sharing and display over the internet. The data portal provides immediate access to remotely distributed information on the location of arctic biological resources, population sizes, trends and other parameters, including relevant a-biotic information. The development of this interoperable, distributed web-based system has been piloted with the CBMP's Circumpolar Seabird Group, focusing on accessing and displaying information on seabird colonies in the arctic including location, colony size by species, productivity and other parameters. As well as providing a focal point for arctic biodiversity information, the data portal provides a simple approach for experts to share information through the web. The CBMP's web-based data portal is providing information on trends and conditions in a cost-efficient, timely and user-friendly manner to inform decision making (e.g. environmental assessment), local stewardship of resources and facilitate the investigation of possible mechanisms driving trends in arctic biodiversity.

This project is a joint effort by the Circumpolar Seabird Group, the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program and the United Nations Environmental Program - World Conservation Monitoring Centre.