An inventory of biodiversity data sources for conservation monitoring

assessments of African biodiversity data have been led and conducted by scientists who are predominantly based outside the region [14, 15], reflecting more systemic issues with capacity for research and monitoring [16–18]. It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that all of the global data sets, and most of the scientists with access and capacity to analyse them, are housed in Europe and North America. Governments, NGOs and international organisations monitor delivery of global conserva- tion goals, such as the Aichi Targets and the environment-focused Sustainable Development Goals, by using a number of key global databases, such as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [19], Protected Planet [20] and the Living Planet Index [21]. The data in these data- bases can be used to track biodiversity at local, national and global scales [4, 22, 23]. But these databases focus on the state of biodiversity, mostly vertebrates, and on one conservation response (protected areas). What other data are available that could be used by conservation agencies (e.g. government departments, NGOs) and other natural resource managers (e.g. businesses, local communities) at national or international level to enhance biodiversity monitoring? Only limited efforts have been made to date to identify and share available biodiversity data sources, and these have focused on a single theme, such as threats [24], or one region, such as Europe [11], and they did not target data specifically of use for monitoring. We therefore

undertook an inventory of existing global data sets, databases and data platforms, as well as reports that synthesise such data, in order to determine data sources that could help conserva- tionists and natural resource managers monitor biodiversity, especially the state of species and habitats, the threats and pressures they face, and conservation responses. This represents the first attempt to summarise data sources specifically relevant to biodiversity monitoring. Materials and methods Data sources and reports were identified through a web search and literature review using a combination of key terms (e.g. biodiversity, conservation, data, data set, database) and terms linked to key threats and actions (e.g. bycatch, deforestation, offtake, pollution). A snowballing technique was used to source other literature from that uncovered. In addition, websites of key organisations working on biodiversity data were explored (e.g. those of the Biodiversity Indica- tors Partnership, GEOBON, UN agencies such as FAO and UN Environment, and UNEP-WCMC). Similarly, the latest versions of key biodiversity reports were mined for refer- ences to specific data sets, especially the Global Biodiversity Outlook, Global Environment Outlook, and assessments of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). While an effort was made at the start of the assessment to differentiate between data plat- forms (websites and tools used as portals to access multiple data sets) and other data sources,

this proved infeasible, largely because almost all organisations compiling data sources at the global level use data acquired from others. Therefore, throughout the inventory, the term data source is used to cover data sets, databases and data platforms, whether they are primary or secondary sources. Data sources were included in the inventory if they met the following criteria: potential rele- vance for monitoring biodiversity state, pressures and responses at the global level by key stakeholders (governments, international organizations, civil society and NGOs, conservation agencies and businesses striving for sustainability); at least some time-series data or plans to collect time-series data; up to date (with data added in at least the last 5years or so). Regional and other sub-global level data sources were excluded. The most useful data sources would have large volumes of widespread data that were scalable, of high quality and regularly PLOS ONE Biodiversity data sources PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242923 December 2, 2020 2 / 14