20 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



• monitoring the effectiveness of resource 

 management plans once they are imple- 

 mented; and 



• determining priorities for areas that merit 

 special efforts to manage natural diversity 

 that would benefit from protection, and 

 that deserve particular attention to avoid 

 biological disruption or to initiate mitiga- 

 tive actions. 



To be effective and efficient, the acquisition, 

 dissemination, and use of data must proceed 

 within the context of defined objectives. For 

 the most part, biological data used in diversity 

 maintenance programs has been acquired with- 

 out the direction of a coordinating goal. Not 

 surprisingly, these data are widely scattered 

 and generally incompatible. Geographical and 

 taxonomical data gaps exist. Some taxonomic 

 groups are ignored in field inventories, while 

 others, particularly plants and animals with 

 economic or recreational value, are monitored 

 extensively. Finally, there is little data on the 

 social, economic, and institutional pressures 

 on biological diversity. Consequently, available 

 data cannot be used easily in decisionmaking 

 directed at maintaining biological diversity. 



FINDING 5: Congress and other policymakers 

 need improved information on biological 

 diversity. Such information cannot be sup- 

 plied without improvements in data collec- 

 tion, maintenance, and synthesis. 



Policymakers need comprehensive informa- 

 tion on the ramifications and scope of diver- 

 sity loss. Information provided by the scientific 

 community should be a basis for resource pol- 

 icy and management decisions. To serve in the 

 context of public policy, data should satisfy four 

 criteria: 



1. The data must be oi high quality, that is, 

 it must meet accepted standards of objec- 

 tivity, completeness, reproducibility, and 

 accuracy. 



2. The data must have value; that is, it must 

 address a worthwhile problem. 



3. The data must be apphcable; that is, it must 

 be useful to decisionmakers responsible for 

 making policy. 



4. The data must be legitimate; that is, it must 

 carry a widely accepted presumption of ac- 

 curacy and authority. 



Much information is already available but not 

 in an assimilated form useful to decision- 

 makers. Data on the status and trends of bio- 

 logical diversity are scattered among Federal, 

 State, and foreign agencies and private orga- 

 nizations. Consolidation of these data is nec- 

 essary to identify gaps, to provide a compre- 

 hensive understanding of the status of the 

 Earth's biota, and especially to define priori- 

 ties for action. 



Option 5.1: Establish a small clearinghouse for 

 data on biological diversity. 



The purpose of a clearinghouse would be to 

 coordinate data collection, synthesis, and dis- 

 semination efforts. It could serve government 

 agencies, private organizations, corporations, 

 and individuals. The clearinghouse could per- 

 form the following functions: 



• survey and catalog existing Federal, State, 

 private, and international databases on bio- 

 logical resources; 



• evaluate the quality of databases; 



• provide small grants and personnel sup- 

 port services to strengthen existing data- 

 bases; and 



• publish annual reports on the status and 

 needs of the biological data system. 



Success in these endeavors would accelerate 

 progress toward several objectives: 



1. setting of priorities for conservation action; 



2. monitoring trends; 



3. developing an alert system for adverse 

 trends; 



4. identifying gaps and reviewing needs to 

 fill them; 



5. facilitating development of environmental 

 impact assessments; and 



6. evaluating options, actions, and successes 

 and failures. 



As a data-coordinating body, the clearing- 

 house could guide efforts to collect data on bio- 

 logical diversity, which will provide a compre- 



