The Good, Bad and the Ugly of CONABIO and BIOTICA: Mexico’s Biodiversity Database

Robert W. JonesFacultad de Ciencias Naturales

Universidad Autónoma de QuerétaroQuerétaro, México

CONABIOComisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la

Biodiversidad National Comission for the Knowledge and Use of

Biodiversity

• Established during 1992, three months before the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or “Rio Summit”

• Official decree followed a meeting of experts in biodiversity and the then president of México, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, officially adopted on the 16th of March 1992

What is CONABIO?

• An Inter-institutional commission to coordinate and promote actions related to the knowledge and Use of Biodiversity in Mexico.

• Headed by the president of the Republic, and Secretariat (Ministry) of:– SEMARNAT – Environment and Natural Resources– SAGARPA – Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Nutrition – SEDESOL – Desarrollo Social– SE – Economy– SEP – Public Education– SENER – Energy– SHCP- Finance and Public Credit– SER – Foreign Relations– SS - Health– SECTUR – Tourism

Funds for CONABIO

• 60-70% of the budget comes from federal funds (Fideicomiso)

• Remaining from external sources, including international sources.

• Funds are deposited in a private trust: “Fondo para la Biodiversidad”

Publications

On-Line Book from CONABIO: Jerzy Rzedowski 1978. Vegetación de México

• http://www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/publicaciones/librosDig/pdf/VegetacionMx_Cont.pdf /

Sistema Nacional de Información sobre la Biodiversidad - SNIB

• System that integrates:– Data bases – Information concerning 5 million

specimens in Mexican and international collections

– Geographic information– 180,000 images– Cartographic, infrastructural and socioeconoomic

information

Principal Mexican Collections Captured in SNIB

Principal International Collections Captured in SNIB

These results were generated through:

• A total of 85 grant programs (call for grants) for capture and updating of data bases and biological inventories in the last 20 years

• Also, other studies of basic ecology and genetics have been supported; charasmatic species primarily.

• Also, grants for determination of potential distribution of species.

Data capture:BIOTICA Biodiversity software

• With an approved grant, the software is given with for use on one designated computer

• A week long course is offered in Mexico City to learn how to use the program.

• Basic product of the grant is the database information that is sent to CONABIO.

• All data is thoroughly checked and several revisions are always required.

Right Clic

GIS

Verification of Data is “Rigorous”• Full time, experienced data

checkers-programers.• CONABIO reference library

is fairly extensive, and what they don’t have for a particular project they will often buy.

• Result: Data base with high confidence, but lots of work to finally finish the project.

Products online:Geographic Information Programs

• Database access (.xml, .xls, .txt) • Basic data: Longitud and Latitude, altitud, year

of collection, collector, state, locality, other retlated data (hosplant etc).

• From the portal of geodata of CONABIO, one can download vector data (shape files, .kml)

• Geodata is free to download.• Range from 1/50,000 (local scale) up to 1/1

millon (national scale).

Products: Lots of nice maps.

Products: Nice graphs

Scientific Publications by CONABIO

• Geoinformation available on the internethttp://www.conabio.gob.mx/informacion/gis/

From data of projects of potential distributions of species and not actual data points

Potential Distribution

Potential Distribution of Diamondback rattlesnake

Plants:Potential Distribution of Hampea nutricia Fryxell (Malvaceae)

Toequest for specific data bases

• Free to all who request data:• Simple request to:

servext@conabio.gob.mx

“Dear CONABIO,I am conducting research on species of Aphodius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of North America …”

Data base comes back as:

• Access file

Data Restrictions

• Project leaders have up to 5 years to use their data before it becomes public.

A few words aboutMexican Collection Permits:

Yearly process

• Restricted to taxonomic groups that one chooses to collect

• Related to scientific “projects” requiring project reports every year.

Para 2012

• Easiest way to get permission to collect is through a Mexican contact who has a collection permit that allows for a “carta de aval” (letter of endorsement).

Thank you