16th Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network (APBON) Workshop Theme: Addressing Data Sharing Challenges and Gaps in Biodiversity Observation in the Asia-Pacific

16th Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network (APBON) Workshop

Theme: Addressing Data Sharing Challenges and Gaps in Biodiversity Observation in the Asia-Pacific

Date: January 29-30, 2025

Venue: ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna 

Organizers:

ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Biology

Biodiversity Center of Japan, Ministry of the Environment Japan

Biodiversity Collaborative Research Group, Biodiversity Division, NIES, Japan

DIAS Project, Japan

Background

The Asia-Pacific region is a global biodiversity hotspot, rich in ecosystems that are essential for both local communities and global ecological health. However, the region faces considerable threats to its biodiversity due to habitat loss, climate change, and unsustainable exploitation of resources. To support effective conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources, comprehensive biodiversity observation and data sharing are critical.

The Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network (APBON) has been working to identify gaps and needs in biodiversity observation data and modeling across the region. Over the past years, discussions have highlighted the necessity of collective and collaborative efforts to address the challenges of biodiversity data sharing, particularly in light of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The upcoming APBON meeting on January 29-30, 2025 in the Philippines will focus on aligning these efforts with ongoing regional and global initiatives, particularly the application of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) developed by GEO BON. Given the diversity of environments and cultural contexts in the Asia-Pacific region, special considerations are required to ensure the EBVs are relevant and effective for regional biodiversity monitoring.

Objectives

The meeting will focus on addressing the data-sharing challenges and gaps in biodiversity observation across the Asia-Pacific region, with the goal of aligning these efforts with the KM-GBF. The specific objectives are:

1. To identify gaps in biodiversity observation data (including a range of data-types), and discuss what we need and how we approach to fill those gaps. This will also include a reflection on the data-types needed for progress towards the targets of the KMGBF and NBSAPs.
2. To identify how we develop sets of the Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and EOVs for the Asia-Pacific context based on available data. Also to explore how they can be adapted to meet the region’s unique environmental and cultural diversity.
3. To discuss the challenges associated with data sharing in the region, and identify ways forward to  foster collaboration among key regional stakeholders and other institutions to improve data sharing and integration.
4. To formulate actionable strategies and explore resources that support regional cooperation in biodiversity data collection, sharing, and management, in alignment with global frameworks such as GEO BON and KM-GBF.
5. To discuss other regional opportunities and initiatives such as the mapping of ecosystems in Asia as part of the global ecosystems atlas

Key Issues and Challenges

• Data Gaps: Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region lack comprehensive biodiversity data, resulting in uneven datasets across the region. This presents challenges for modeling biodiversity trends, for implementing conservation strategies, and for tracking the in/effectiveness of conservation programs.
• Interoperability: The lack of standardized data formats and sharing mechanisms hampers efforts to integrate biodiversity data at national, regional and global levels.
• Capacity Building: There is a need to enhance the capacity of local institutions to collect, manage, and share biodiversity data effectively.
• Cultural and Environmental Diversity: The vast ecological and cultural diversity of the Asia-Pacific region necessitates tailored approaches to biodiversity observation and data-sharing frameworks.
• Policy and Legal Barriers: Varying national policies regarding data sovereignty and intellectual property can impede cross-border data sharing and collaboration.
• Synthetic online platform(s) to integrate data, knowledge, information to connect among observations and stakeholders.