Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Biodiversity data gaps 'need bridging' to meet global targets

An international conference has heard that global biodiversity targets are in danger of being missed because of inadequate capacity and tools to gather and assess data. The lack of data may affect the fourth Global Biodiversity Outlook, scheduled for 2014, which will rely on actions and progress on targets (known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The targets aim to reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and improve its status by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity. There is no integrated system to monitor biodiversity of Earth as a whole — information is available from only some parts. There is a need to bridge that gap and build partnerships that bring together scientific capacities of various institutions, with government support.

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