Contributing to the second Objective of Proteus 2012, the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) is the first outcome of a broad, ambitious vision for improved collection, monitoring, curation and interoperability of biodiversity data shared by an alliance of globally respected organizations that is being promoted by BirdLife International, Conservation International (CI) and UNEP-WCMC. The IUCN, which creates a global framework for gathering species data and is a partner in the creation of the WDPA, contributes to the alliance as an observer.
The IBAT for Business that will be launched during 2008 responds to the need for accurate biodiversity information at the site level when planning new operations and assessing the risks associated with certain sourcing practices. This tool will allow companies to access critical site-scale biodiversity information allowing decision-makers to incorporate important biodiversity priorities into their risk assessment procedures for existing and potential operations.
IBAT is designed to also support the explicit consideration of conservation priorities in development agendas. More specifically, IBAT will help inform the implementation of various environmental safeguard policies by facilitating access to information on high priority sites for conservation, whether or not these are legally protected at the moment. Many will be candidates for future legal protection. Providing access to this information at the earliest stages of project planning will make it easier to consider alternative projects or locations when such changes are still economically viable.
The core site-scale data available through IBAT is:
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i) Protected Areas: National legally protected areas categorized by IUCN, together with sites recognized under international agreements such as the UNESCO World Heritage, UNESCO Man-and-Biosphere and Ramsar conventions. These datasets originate from the WDPA
ii) Key Biodiversity Areas: Critically important sites holding globally threatened, restricted range and/or biome-representative communities of species, as well as globally significant congregations of any species. These sites, including Important Bird Areas, Important Plant Areas and sites identified by the Alliance for Zero Extinction, have been identified in 173 countries and territories by a global network of international and local partners using global standards and criteria. These datasets originate from the World Biodiversity Database (WBDB)
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Over the past year an IBAT prototype has been developed following the assessment of business needs and the establishment of a consultative group to guide development, as well as the resolution of data compatibility issues and the design of a web-based interface.
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