The Biodiversity Collections Index

What is "The Biodiversity Collections Index"?

Research into biodiversity relies on the use of specimens. These specimens are held in reference collections around the world. BCI is a central index to these collections.

The Problem

The Convention of Biological Diversity obliges governments to conserve their biodiversity. To do this researchers must find and utilise voucher specimens and other biological materials located in museums, universities and research centres around the world. All biodiversity research ultimately relies upon these artefacts and the collections they are stored in.

Artefacts are widely distributed between collections and a large proportion are not stored in their countries of origin - so locating them is far from straightforward. Researchers have to rely on historical knowledge, specimens cited in extant publications and word of mouth to find research materials. They cannot know if they are missing anything significant. Governments cannot know what assets are available to help them understand and conserve their biodiversity even at a high level.

It is only through exploiting informatics techniques that the taxonomic impediment is likely to be overcome and our natural resources managed successfully but only a tiny proportion of artefacts have been digitally catalogued. Most are invisible from the point of view of information technology. Until now there hasn't even been a central index to the collections that hold the artefacts.

The Solution

A single internet-based, shared resource: the Biodiversity Collections Index.

• Data about the collections not the artefacts.
• Covering all taxonomic groups.
• Created by a consortium of major institutions.
• Contributions from all institutions globally.
• Issues Globally Unique Identifiers and metadata for each collection.

Aims

The Biodiversity Collections Index aims to facilitate the understanding, conservation and utilisation of global biodiversity by creating a single annotated index of all collections of biodiversity materials used in research. BCI intends to do this by collaborating with the organisations and individuals who curate these collections and the information about them.

Supporters