Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2013 Feb 6;280(1756):20122649. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.2649. Print 2013 Apr 7.
Global biodiversity conservation is seriously challenged by gaps and heterogeneity in the geographical coverage of existing information. Nevertheless, the key barriers to the collection and compilation of biodiversity information at a global scale have yet to be identified. We show that wealth, language, geographical location and security each play an important role in explaining spatial variations in data availability in four different types of biodiversity databases. The number of records per square kilometre is high in countries with high per capita gross domestic product (GDP), high proportion of English speakers and high security levels, and those located close to the country hosting the database; but these are not necessarily countries with high biodiversity. These factors are considered to affect data availability by impeding either the activities of scientific research or active international communications. Our results demonstrate that efforts to solve environmental problems at a global scale will gain significantly by focusing scientific education, communication, research and collaboration in low-GDP countries with fewer English speakers and located far from Western countries that host the global databases; countries that have experienced conflict may also benefit. Findings of this study may be broadly applicable to other fields that require the compilation of scientific knowledge at a global level.
全球生物多样性保护受到现有信息在地理覆盖范围上存在的差距和异质性的严重挑战。然而，在全球范围内收集和编纂生物多样性信息的主要障碍尚未确定。我们表明，财富、语言、地理位置和安全在解释四类不同生物多样性数据库中数据可用性的空间变化方面都起着重要作用。每平方公里记录数量在人均国内生产总值（GDP）高、说英语比例高和安全水平高的国家以及靠近数据库所在国家的国家中较高；但这些国家并不一定具有较高的生物多样性。这些因素被认为通过阻碍科学研究活动或国际间的积极交流来影响数据的可用性。我们的研究结果表明，通过将科学教育、交流、研究和合作集中在低 GDP 国家、英语使用者较少且远离主办全球数据库的西方国家，以及经历过冲突的国家，在全球范围内解决环境问题的努力将大大受益；这些国家可能也会受益。本研究的结果可能广泛适用于其他需要在全球范围内编纂科学知识的领域。
