ICT TO SERVICE OF THE BIODIVERSITY IN LATIN AMERICA

Did you know there’s an application of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) to service of the Biodiversity?

In fact, the ICT contains database, citizen monitoring of species and early detection of fire are some of the projects which are carrying out in Latin America to preserve the Biodiversity with the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

One of those tools is the International Platform of Information about Biodiversity (Global Biodiversity Information Facility – GBIF ), a system based on the Internet which allows the free access to information about World Biodiversity at which 60 countries take part in, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Brazil.

According to World Bank data, Latin America is the leader in conservation with 20% of its territory protected, while the average of developing countries is just 13%.

Specialists in ecosystems agree with the advance of this subject could depend on the successful use of the ICT. “A main challenge is to know our biodiversity. And the use of the ICT help us to know how is it, and over all, to distribute this knowledge between Scientists, Authorities an General Public, then, introduce it  in strategies of prevention and protection” said to SciDev.net Maria Isabel Cruz, one member of the National Commission for Knowledge and Use of the Biodiversity (CONABIO in Spanish) in Mexico.

An example is the Early Alert of Heat Points of the CONABIO, which register and analyse the temperature of the surface through satellite imagery. The system identifies anomalies, publishes this on the Internet and then sends the Information to the Responsible for taking the decisions that look into and can prevent fires and damages to ecosystems. The system is working in Mexico, Middle America, Brazil and Argentina.

“BIOTICA” adds up to this, a System of Information designed for catching and handling of data like taxonomical names, habits and characteristics of species. In Costa Rica, the National Institute of Biology (INBio in Spanish) has a similar system called “ATTA”.

Another initiative is BIOEXPLORER,” a project for naturalist citizens to be part of observation data of species to repository of INBio data”, said to SciDev.net Maria Mora, Manager of Information Technologies of the Institute.

She added that this information allowstake decisions for facing habitat loss, destruction of rainforest, climate change, pollution and invasive species.

If you want to know more about this information, you can check the next web page: http://www.gbif.org/.