Policy-Relevant Lists of Species

By

Heughebaert, André

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-8-21

Original Publication

Metabarcoding and metagenomics

Volume

7

Pages

1--2

Subjects

Biodiversity , biodiversity information standards , Checklist , Standards

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2017-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.7.111437

 

Abstract

Biodiversity-related regulations often include lists of species in annexes of legal texts. Unfortunately, those publications are often published in PDF with lists in tables in annexes, not suitable for machine reading nor for incorporation into databases, decision making tools or any other information technology tools. This situation undermines efficient data reporting and therefore limits the follow-up of the policies. I tried to publish several species lists*1 from some key European Union legislation (e.g., the Habitats and Birds Directives) to ChecklistBank. Based on my experience, I will discuss the adequacy of existing biodiversity informatics standards to publish policy-relevant lists of species and see how they differ from usual taxonomic checklists. I will also suggest possible improvements to cope with the specificities of these policy-relevant lists.