The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
Where Biodiversity Nexus gets its data, on what terms, with what quality and with which known gaps.
Biodiversity · Source and data register
unit · cadence · label
| Natural habitat extent | ha | annual | DERIVED | SP-7599 |
| Ecosystem condition index | index 0 to 1 | annual | MODELLED | SP-9988 |
| Water-related dependency score | score | annual | ASSESSED | SP-7592 |
| Restoration area under management | ha | quarterly | REPORTED | SP-3335 |
| Free, prior and informed consent records | records | per site | OFFICIAL | SP-1573 |
Biodiversity Nexus · Evidence registerEvidence register, in outline: domain structure with placeholder names and illustrative values, not a record.
The Biodiversity Nexus source register lists the datasets and records the platform draws on, such as IUCN Red List of Ecosystems and IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology, each with its producer, licence and permitted uses, quality and known gaps. A source is listed only once its terms permit the use described, and data held by agreement is used under those terms and never republished.
Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.
Urban demand centres and the hubs that anchor digital and data infrastructure, shown for Germany as an example geography for this subject.
Who produces the data and how.
Licence, restrictions and permitted uses.
Coverage, resolution, update frequency and known errors.
How the data reached the platform and what was changed.
What is missing and how the gap is handled.
| Source | What it gives | Terms | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House (CBD) | Permits, certificates of compliance and national measures under the Nagoya Protocol | Public records | Nature data rights |
| Allen Coral Atlas | Shallow reef habitat maps and bleaching monitoring | Free and open, attribution | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| Biodiversity Intactness Index (Natural History Museum, PREDICTS) | Modelled intactness of local species assemblages from compiled field studies | Free and open, attribution | Ecosystem integrity |
| BioTIME | Assemblage time series of species abundance at fixed locations | Terms per study, mostly open with attribution | Species and genetic diversity |
| CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (Global Indigenous Data Alliance) | Collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility and ethics | Free and open, attribution | Nature data rights |
| Copernicus Land Monitoring Service lake products | Lake surface temperature and water quality from satellite | Free and open, attribution | Wetlands and freshwater |
| Copernicus Marine Service | Ocean temperature, currents, biogeochemistry and ocean colour | Free and open, attribution | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 | Radar and optical imagery for monitoring cloud-prone forests | Free and open, attribution | Forest and landscapes |
| eBird Basic Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) | Checklist-based bird observations with effort information | Free for non-commercial use, terms of use | Species and genetic diversity |
| ENCORE (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure) | Links between economic activities, ecosystem services and natural capital | Free, attribution, terms of use | Ecosystem services |
| ESA WorldCover and Copernicus Land Monitoring Service | Land cover and change for ecosystem extent | Free and open, attribution | Ecosystem integrity |
| FAIR Guiding Principles | Practices for findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable data | Free and open | Nature data rights |
| FAO FishStat and the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture | Capture, aquaculture and stock status statistics | Free and open, attribution | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| FAO Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring (FERM) | Registry and geospatial platform for restoration initiatives under the UN Decade | Free and open, attribution | Restoration and nature based solutions |
| FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment | Country-reported forest area, characteristics and management | Free and open, attribution | Forest and landscapes |
| FAOSTAT crop production | Crop production statistics for dependency estimates | Free and open, attribution | Ecosystem services |
| Forest Landscape Integrity Index | Forest condition from observed pressures, inferred pressures and lost connectivity | Free and open, attribution | Ecosystem integrity |
| Freshwater Ecoregions of the World | A biogeographic frame for comparing freshwater assessments | Free, attribution | Wetlands and freshwater |
| GBIF data use agreement and sensitive data guidance | Licensing rules and practice for generalising sensitive species data | Free and open, attribution | Nature data rights |
| GEDI lidar and canopy height products | Vegetation structure for tracking recovery | Public domain; free and open | Restoration and nature based solutions |
| GEDI lidar and ESA Climate Change Initiative biomass | Forest structure and above-ground biomass estimates | Public domain; free and open | Forest and landscapes |
| GEMStat (UNEP GEMS/Water) | Water quality measurements from national monitoring programmes | Terms per data provider | Wetlands and freshwater |
| GLAD and RADD forest disturbance alerts | Near-real-time disturbance alerts from optical and radar imagery | Free and open, attribution | Forest and landscapes |
| Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) | Species occurrence records from collections, surveys and citizen science | CC0, CC BY or CC BY-NC per dataset | Species and genetic diversity |
| Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network | Compiled reef survey data on coral and fish condition | Terms per data contributor | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| Global Fishing Watch | Apparent fishing effort and vessel presence from vessel tracking | Free for non-commercial use, attribution | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| Global Forest Watch and Global Forest Change | Tree cover gain and loss for checking restoration sites | Free and open, attribution | Restoration and nature based solutions |
| Global Forest Watch and Global Forest Change (University of Maryland) | Annual tree cover loss and gain mapped from Landsat | Free and open, attribution | Forest and landscapes |
| Global Mangrove Watch | Mangrove extent and change from satellite radar and optical data | Free and open, attribution | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| Global Mangrove Watch with coastal flood models | Habitat extent for estimating coastal protection | Free and open, attribution | Ecosystem services |
| Global Peatland Database and Global Peatland Map | Peatland extent and status from national and remote sensing sources | Terms per dataset | Wetlands and freshwater |
| HydroSHEDS, HydroATLAS and the Free-flowing Rivers dataset | River networks, catchment attributes and connectivity status | Free, attribution and terms | Wetlands and freshwater |
| INSDC sequence archives and the Barcode of Life Data System | Genetic sequences and DNA barcodes for identification and diversity estimates | Public, no restrictions on INSDC; open with attribution on BOLD | Species and genetic diversity |
| Intact Forest Landscapes | Mapped large unfragmented forest areas and their reduction over time | Free and open, attribution | Forest and landscapes |
| International Long Term Ecological Research network | Multi-decade site measurements of ecosystem state and processes | Terms per site | Ecosystem integrity |
| InVEST (Natural Capital Project) and ARIES | Open-source models of ecosystem service supply and flow | Open-source software licences | Ecosystem services |
| IPBES assessment on pollinators, pollination and food production | Assessed evidence on pollination dependence and drivers of pollinator decline | Free and open, attribution | Ecosystem services |
| IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology | A hierarchical classification of ecosystem functional groups across all realms | Free and open, attribution | Ecosystem integrity |
| IUCN Red List of Ecosystems | Risk-of-collapse assessments of ecosystem types against standard criteria | Free for non-commercial use, terms of use | Ecosystem integrity |
| IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | Extinction-risk assessments, range maps, threats and conservation actions | Free for non-commercial use, terms of use | Species and genetic diversity |
| JRC Global Surface Water | Surface-water occurrence, change and seasonality from Landsat | Free and open, attribution | Wetlands and freshwater |
| LandMark global platform of Indigenous and community lands | Mapped Indigenous and community lands and their legal status | Terms per dataset, some layers restricted | Nature data rights |
| Living Planet Index database | Vertebrate population time series compiled from published sources | Free for non-commercial use, terms of use | Species and genetic diversity |
| Local Contexts Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural labels | Labels and notices that attach community terms to data and collections | Free to use under Local Contexts terms | Nature data rights |
| National biodiversity monitoring schemes | Standardised counts such as breeding bird and butterfly monitoring | Public records, terms per scheme | Species and genetic diversity |
| National ecosystem accounts under SEEA | Extent and condition accounts compiled by national statistical offices | Public records, terms per agency | Ecosystem integrity |
| National forest inventories | Plot measurements of species, size, condition and growth | Terms per agency | Forest and landscapes |
| National restoration commitments and Bonn Challenge reports | Pledged and reported areas and approaches | Public records | Restoration and nature based solutions |
| National SEEA Ecosystem Accounting accounts | Ecosystem extent, condition and service accounts from statistical offices | Public records, terms per agency | Ecosystem services |
| Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) | Marine species occurrence and abundance records | CC0, CC BY or CC BY-NC per dataset | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| Protected Planet (WDPA and WD-OECM) | Area boundaries for context and comparison-site selection | Free for non-commercial use, terms of use | Restoration and nature based solutions |
| RAM Legacy Stock Assessment Database | Compiled biomass and fishing mortality series from stock assessments | Free and open, attribution | Coastal marine biodiversity |
| Ramsar Sites Information Service | Wetlands of international importance, their boundaries and reported changes | Public records, terms of use | Wetlands and freshwater |
| Verra and Gold Standard project registries | Project documents, monitoring reports and issued credits | Public records, terms of use | Restoration and nature based solutions |
Essential Biodiversity Variables guide which gaps matter most for monitoring change.
Sources are added to the register as they are reviewed. A source is listed only once its terms permit the use described.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Provenance | Information about the entities, activities and people involved in producing a record, used to judge its quality and reliability, in the W3C PROV model. |
| FAIR principles | Guiding principles that make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable by people and machines. |
| Open licence | A licence that allows anyone to access, reuse and redistribute data, sometimes with attribution. |
| Data lineage | The traceable path of data from its origin through each transformation to its current form. |
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.