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A global observatory to monitor Earth's biodiversity

Date:
August 31, 2023
Source:
McGill University
Summary:
At a time of unparalleled rates of biodiversity loss, a new interconnected system to monitor biodiversity around the world is needed to guide action quickly enough to target conservation efforts to where they are most needed.
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At a time of unparalleled rates of biodiversity loss, a new interconnected system to monitor biodiversity around the world is needed to guide action quickly enough to target conservation efforts to where they are most needed.

"The lethal combination of habitat loss, the exploitation of natural populations, and climate change is causing species extinction rates not seen since the last mass extinction 65 million years ago," said Prof. Andrew Gonzalez, Liber Ero Chair in Conservation Biology at McGill University and co-Chair of GEO BON. "We lack the means to monitor these impacts fast enough across most areas of the planet."

Operating much like the existing global network of weather stations that monitor climate change and its impacts, the Global Biodiversity Observing System (GBiOS), is a proposal developed by scientists from the Group of Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), and its partners, that will combine technology, data, and knowledge from around the world to foster collaboration and data sharing among countries and to provide the data urgently needed to monitor change and target action.

GBiOS can galvanize collaboration on the critical issue of biodiversity data access, sharing, and equitable use. "It can provide the information we need at the pace we need it to support countries as they make progress towards their biodiversity goals," said Prof. Alice Hughes, Associate Professor at The University of Hong Kong, and one of the dozens of scientists who collaborated to develop the proposal for GBiOS.

GBiOS is a missing piece of the science-policy puzzle needed to support the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon at the COP-15 conference in Montreal last year, contributing to a representative and inclusive understanding of biodiversity change and supporting effective implementation of policies that are designed to reverse biodiversity loss and achieve the global goals for nature in the coming decades.


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Materials provided by McGill University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Andrew Gonzalez, Petteri Vihervaara, Patricia Balvanera, Amanda E. Bates, Elisa Bayraktarov, Peter J. Bellingham, Andreas Bruder, Jillian Campbell, Michael D. Catchen, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Jonathan Chase, Nicholas Coops, Mark J. Costello, Maria Dornelas, Grégoire Dubois, Emmett J. Duffy, Hilde Eggermont, Nestor Fernandez, Simon Ferrier, Gary N. Geller, Michael Gill, Dominique Gravel, Carlos A. Guerra, Robert Guralnick, Michael Harfoot, Tim Hirsch, Sean Hoban, Alice C. Hughes, Margaret E. Hunter, Forest Isbell, Walter Jetz, Norbert Juergens, W. Daniel Kissling, Cornelia B. Krug, Yvan Le Bras, Brian Leung, Maria Cecilia Londoño-Murcia, Jean-Michel Lord, Michel Loreau, Amy Luers, Keping Ma, Anna J. MacDonald, Melodie McGeoch, Katie L. Millette, Zsolt Molnar, Akira S. Mori, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Hiroyuki Muraoka, Laetitia Navarro, Tim Newbold, Aidin Niamir, David Obura, Mary O’Connor, Marc Paganini, Henrique Pereira, Timothée Poisot, Laura J. Pollock, Andy Purvis, Adriana Radulovici, Duccio Rocchini, Michael Schaepman, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Dirk S. Schmeller, Ute Schmiedel, Fabian D. Schneider, Mangal Man Shakya, Andrew Skidmore, Andrew L. Skowno, Yayoi Takeuchi, Mao-Ning Tuanmu, Eren Turak, Woody Turner, Mark C. Urban, Nicolás Urbina-Cardona, Ruben Valbuena, Basile van Havre, Elaine Wright. A global biodiversity observing system to unite monitoring and guide action. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02171-0

Cite This Page:

McGill University. "A global observatory to monitor Earth's biodiversity." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 August 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230831121715.htm>.
McGill University. (2023, August 31). A global observatory to monitor Earth's biodiversity. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 7, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230831121715.htm
McGill University. "A global observatory to monitor Earth's biodiversity." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230831121715.htm (accessed December 7, 2024).

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