This document discusses the need to integrate freshwater biodiversity data through research infrastructures. It notes that solid data provides a scientific foundation for water policy and is needed to halt biodiversity loss. Existing data repositories and generating infrastructures are mentioned, but there is still a need for collaboration and sharing of expertise and data. The Global Wetlands Observing System is highlighted as one collaborative effort that works to provide products like atlases and indexes by bringing together partners, data providers, donors, and targeted users.

1. Research infra-structures:
the case for integrating
freshwater biodiversity data
Aaike De Wever, Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber
@aaik
RBINS – Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels
BOKU – University of Natural Resources & Life Sciences, Vienna
© J. Freyhof, A. Hartl

2. Taking freshwater biodiversity
into account in water policy
• Data – solid scientific foundation for policy
• Baseline data – halting biodiversity loss
• Data on connectivity of freshwater
environments
Science 343, 3 Jan. 14, p. 15

4. 2010
?

5. 2014
*
Vines et al. (2014) The
Availability of Research
Data Declines Rapidly
with Article Age. Current
Biology 24, 1-4.
*

6. ?
?
?

7. BioFresh: bringing expertise and
data together

8. www.freshwaterbiodiversity.eu

11. Data?

12. Caddisflies [E],
Köcherfliege [D],
ver d’eau [F]
kokerjuffer [N]

14. Research infra-structures:
the case for integrating
freshwater biodiversity data

15. Matthias Obst @
Are we ready to build a Hubble telescope to
study biodiversity?
Virtual research
infrastructure and
interoperability
systems
Data repositories and
information systems
Data generating infrastructures
LifeWatch, DataONE
PESI, WORMS, OBIS, GBIF,
GeneBank, Pangaea
LTER, GenomicObservatories,
NHM’s, BON’s,
EarthObservatories, etc

17. Nick Davidson, Dec. 2011
The State of the World’s Wetlands
and their ecosystem services
Stephan Flink & Lammert
Hilarides, Dec. 2013
1st Edi on 2015
Global Wetlands Observing System
Engine room
Collaborative Effort
• Process
•
•
•
•
•
Infrastructure
Procedures
Information Life Cycle
Data Analysis
Modeling
Products
•
•
•
Sahelian Atlas
Freshwater Health Index
State of the Worlds Wetlands
•
Global Mangrove Watch
• Knowledge
• Data
• Money
• Access
Partners / data providers
Donors:
Targeted users
• Needs
• Impact
•
•
•
•
•
Basin authorities
Decision/policy makers
Corporates
NGOs
MEAs

18. Thanks!
Funding: EU FP7
Data contributors and partners
Coordination and data WP-leads: Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber,
Nicolas Bailly, Klement Tockner, Koen Martens
Platform development: Jörg Strackbein
Metadatabase development: Robert Vogl
Atlas development: Vanessa Bremerich
Data portal development: Michel Kapel, Bos Debusscher
…