The Biodiversity Informatics Potential Index

Area of Science:

• Biodiversity Informatics
• Data Science
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Biodiversity informatics, a growing field, faces uneven global development due to the high costs of digitization and capacity building.
• A rational prioritization method is needed to guide these efforts effectively.
• The Biodiversity Informatics Potential (BIP) Index is proposed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply a quantitative index for assessing a country's potential in biodiversity informatics.
• To identify countries with high potential for contributing to global biodiversity data.
• To guide resource allocation for capacity building and data digitization.

Main Methods:

• Utilized rank correlation, multiple regression, principal components analysis, and linear programming optimization.
• Identified key human, economic, and environmental variables predicting primary biodiversity data availability via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
• Developed and applied an optimized model to score and rank countries based on their biodiversity informatics potential.

Main Results:

• Many current GBIF participants ranked highly, though some may not have reached their full potential.
• Most non-participant countries ranked low, but a few showed high potential for future GBIF engagement.
• The BIP Index provides a quantitative measure for country-level biodiversity informatics capacity.

Conclusions:

• The BIP Index can identify countries best positioned to fill gaps in digitized biodiversity data.
• It aids in mobilizing resources for data collection in countries needing support, especially mega-diverse nations.
• The index facilitates matching resource-rich countries with those needing capacity building in biodiversity informatics.