Drowning in data, thirsty for information and starved for understanding: A biodiversity information hub for cooperative environmental monitoring in South Africa

MacFadyen, Sandra; Allsopp, Nicky; Altwegg, Res; Archibald, Sally; Botha, Judith; Bradshaw, Karen; Carruthers, Jane; De Klerk, Helen; de Vos, Alta; Distiller, Greg; Foord, Stefan; Freitag-Ronaldson, Stefanie; Gibbs, Richard; Hamer, Michelle; Landi, Pietro; MacFayden, Duncan; Manuel, Jeffrey; Midgley, Guy; Moncrieff, Glenn; Munch, Zahn; Mutanga, Onisimo; Sershen; Nenguda, Rendani; Ngwenya, Mzabalazo; Parker, Daniel; Peel, Mike; Power, John; Pretorius, Joachim; Ramdhani, Syd; Robertson, Mark; Rushworth, Ian; Skowno, Andrew; Slingsby, Jasper; Turner, Andrew; Visser, Vernon; van Wageningen, Gerhard; Hui, Cang

Title: Drowning in data, thirsty for information and starved for understanding: A biodiversity information hub for cooperative environmental monitoring in South Africa
Creator: MacFadyen, Sandra
Creator: Allsopp, Nicky
Creator: Altwegg, Res
Creator: Archibald, Sally
Creator: Botha, Judith
Creator: Bradshaw, Karen
Creator: Carruthers, Jane
Creator: De Klerk, Helen
Creator: de Vos, Alta
Creator: Distiller, Greg
Creator: Foord, Stefan
Creator: Freitag-Ronaldson, Stefanie
Creator: Gibbs, Richard
Creator: Hamer, Michelle
Creator: Landi, Pietro
Creator: MacFayden, Duncan
Creator: Manuel, Jeffrey
Creator: Midgley, Guy
Creator: Moncrieff, Glenn
Creator: Munch, Zahn
Creator: Mutanga, Onisimo
Creator: Sershen
Creator: Nenguda, Rendani
Creator: Ngwenya, Mzabalazo
Creator: Parker, Daniel
Creator: Peel, Mike
Creator: Power, John
Creator: Pretorius, Joachim
Creator: Ramdhani, Syd
Creator: Robertson, Mark
Creator: Rushworth, Ian
Creator: Skowno, Andrew
Creator: Slingsby, Jasper
Creator: Turner, Andrew
Creator: Visser, Vernon
Creator: van Wageningen, Gerhard
Creator: Hui, Cang
Subject: To be catalogued
Date Issued: 2022
Date: 2022
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/415624
Identifier: vital:71271
Identifier: xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109736"
Description: The world is firmly cemented in a notitian age (Latin: notitia, meaning data) – drowning in data, yet thirsty for information and the synthesis of knowledge into understanding. As concerns over biodiversity declines escalate, the volume, diversity and speed at which new environmental and ecological data are generated has increased exponentially. Data availability primes the research and discovery engine driving biodiversity conservation. South Africa (SA) is poised to become a world leader in biodiversity conservation. However, continent-wide resource limitations hamper the establishment of inclusive technologies and robust platforms and tools for biodiversity informatics. In this perspectives piece, we bring together the opinions of 37 co-authors from 20 different departments, across 10 SA universities, 7 national and provincial conservation research agencies, and various institutes and private conservation, research and management bodies, to develop a way forward for biodiversity informatics in SA. We propose the development of a SA Biodiversity Informatics Hub and describe the essential components necessary for its design, implementation and sustainability. We emphasise the importance of developing a culture of cooperation, collaboration and interoperability among custodians of biodiversity data to establish operational workflows for data synthesis. However, our biggest challenges are misgivings around data sharing and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Format: computer
Format: online resource
Format: application/pdf
Format: 1 online resource (10 pages)
Format: pdf
Publisher: Elsevier
Language: English
Relation: Biological Conservation
Relation: MacFadyen, S., Allsopp, N., Altwegg, R., Archibald, S., Botha, J., Bradshaw, K., Carruthers, J., De Klerk, H., De Vos, A., Distiller, G. and Foord, S., 2022. Drowning in data, thirsty for information and starved for understanding: A biodiversity information hub for cooperative environmental monitoring in South Africa. Biological Conservation, 274, p.109736
Relation: Biological Conservation volume 274 p. 109736 2022 1873-2917
Rights: Publisher
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Elsevier Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions)
Rights: Closed Access

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de Vos, Alta (Dr)

RU Department of Computer Science

RU DST/NRF SARChI for Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods

Bradshaw, Karen (Assoc Prof)

Parker, Daniel M (Prof)

RU Department of Environmental Science

RU Department of Zoology and Entomology

SDG 15. Life On Land

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