Biodiversity Links




Convention on Biological Diversity - http://www.biodiv.org/

The CBD is a global, comprehensive agreement addressing all aspects of biological diversity: genetic resources, species, and ecosystems. Primary site for information, implementation, reports, documents and links.


World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Ecology and Biodiversity - http://conbio.rice.edu/vl/

Reviews Internet information sources on ecology and biodiversity based on their educational value.


The Nature Conservancy - http://www.tnc.org/

A private, international conservation group, protecting endangered species and ecosystems through land acquisition, science, and partnerships.


IUCN - The World Conservation Union - http://www.iucn.org/

The world's largest environmental knowledge network: information on the international convention on biodiversity, IUCN environmental collaborations with the World Bank, global conservation congresses, and more.


Conservation International - http://www.conservation.org

Field-based nonprofit organization that uses science, economics, policy, and community involvement to promote biodiversity conservation in tropical rain forests and other endangered ecosystems worldwide. Works in 23 countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region.


Clearing-House Mechanism for Convention on Biological Diversity - http://www.biodiv.org/chm/

Information resources, on-line forums, etc., related to the world-wide implementation of the Convention.


Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - http://www.wcmc.org.uk/CITES/eng/index.shtml

The scale of over-exploitation of animals and plants for trade aroused such concern for the survival of species that an international treaty was drawn up in 1973 to protect wildlife against such over-exploitation and to prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction. Web site includes database of CITES-listed flora and fauna.


LIFE - Australia's first WWW Server - http://life.csu.edu.au/

Biological information, especially the environment and biodiversity, from Charles Sturt University.


North American Breeding Bird Survey - http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/bbs/bbs.html

Annual program of bird surveys designed to provide a continent-wide perspective of population change.


Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force - http://www.open.ac.uk/OU/Academic/Biology/J_Baker/JBtxt.htm

A network of scientists and conservationists belonging to national and regional working groups. The mission of the DAPTF is to determine the nature, extent and causes of declines of amphibians throughout the world, and to promote means by which declines can be halted or reversed.


Biodiversity Assessment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre - http://www.wcmc.org.uk/species/

Supports policy and action for the conservation and sustainable management of biological diversity, by providing integrated information on status, trends, distribution and use.


Species Survival Commission - http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/

Their mission is to conserve biological diversity by developing and executing programs to study, save, restore, and manage wisely species and their habitats.


Natural Heritage Programs - http://www.heritage.tnc.org/

Searchable directory covers the Western Hemisphere (U.S., Canada, Caribbean, Central America, South America).


Association for Biodiversity Information - http://www.abi.org/

Provides conservation information for use by environmental planners and land managers.


Base De Dados Tropical - http://www.bdt.org.br/

Disseminates biological information of environmental and industrial interest, hoping to contribute directly to the conservation and sustainable use of Brazil's biological resources. Languages: Portuguese, with English pages for javascript-enabled browsers.


National Gap Analysis Program (U.S.) - http://www.gap.uidaho.edu/gap/

A Geographic Approach to Planning for Biological Diversity. Providing regional assessments of the conservation status of native vertebrate species and natural land cover types, to be applied to land management activities.


Biodiversity and Worldmap - http://www.nhm.ac.uk/science/projects/worldmap/

Measuring biodiversity value & selecting priority areas for conservation. Extensive resource on the science of biodiversity, from the Natural History Museum of London.


Threatened Animals of the World - http://www.wcmc.org.uk/data/database/rl_anml_combo.html

Database by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.


DIVERSITAS Programme - http://www.icsu.org/DIVERSITAS/

International collaborative project with the goal of providing accurate scientific information and predictive models of the status of biodiversity and sustainability of the use of the Earth's biotic resources, and to build a world-wide capacity for the science of biodiversity.


Teaming With Wildlife - http://www.teaming.com/

Cooperative effort between U.S. state fish and wildlife agencies, state parks and customers and businesses of the outdoors. Will provide funding to implement conservation strategies and provide recreational and educational opportunities.


Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network - http://www.nbii.gov/iabin/

An initiative of the Summit of the Americas to provide greater and more useful access to biodiversity information throughout the hemisphere.


International Biodiversity Observation Year - http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/IBOY/index2.html

Describes the need for an International Biodiversity Observation Year, events proposed, benefits anticipated.


Biodiversity Support Project - http://www.bsponline.org

Promotes biodiversity conservation in many of the world's most biologically diverse areas. Web site has information on biodiversity around the world, as well as on public policy considerations. The BSP is a consortium of World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and World Resources Institute.


Biodiversity Conservation Network - http://www.bcnet.org/

Works in the Asia/Pacific Region to provide grants for community-based enterprises that directly depend on biodiversity. BCN has two goals: 1) promoting community-based conservation and 2) testing the hypothesis that if local communities receive sufficient benefits from a biodiversity-linked enterprise, then they will act to conserve it.


Biodiversity Group Department of Environment and Heritage - http://www.anca.gov.au/

Part of Environment Australia. Special programs in various interest areas to choose from.


University of Nevada Biological Resources Research Center and Nevada Biodiversity Initiative - http://www.brrc.unr.edu/

Conservation resources including species lists and land use data.


Biodiversity Information Network - BIN21 - http://www.bdt.org.br/bin21/

Links to Internet biodiversity resources.


BIN21 Virtual Library - http://life.csu.edu.au/bin21/library.html

References and links to resources on biodiversity and related topics.


Genetic Resources Conservation Program - http://www.grcp.ucdavis.edu/

Concerned with California's biological diversity and its conservation in the broadest sense: onsite and offsite conservation of the native flora and fauna, collections of germplasm amassed for agricultural, medicinal, and industrial uses, and collections of genetic stocks, tissues, cells, and DNA developed for teaching and research purposes.


National Geographic: Biodiversity - http://tectonic.nationalgeographic.com/2000/biodiversity/

Biodiversity Atlas, "unexplored habitats", forum, and articles on biodiversity.


Indigenous Peoples Biodiversity Information Network - http://www.ibin.org/

A mechanism to exchange information about experiences and projects and to increase collaboration among indigenous groups working on common causes related to biodiversity use and conservation.


Biodiversity Policy Coordination Division, IUCN - http://www.iucn.org/themes/biodiversity/index.html

Facilitates regional forums on program development to promote biodiversity around the world. Website provides access to papers and articles, information on BPCD activities and information on the Global Biodiversity Forum (GBF).


Biodiversity Information Network - BIN21 - http://life.csu.edu.au/bin21/

The Biodiversity Information Network is an international collaborative network of agencies involved in the management and presentation of biodiversity information. BIN21 was set up as an informal, collaborative and distributed network consisting of a series of participating nodes.


World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Programmes - http://www.wcmc.org.uk/programmes/

WCMC provides information services on the conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources and supports others in the development of their own information systems. Thematic programmes focus on Arctic, marine, and forest environments, as well as protected areas, biodiversity assessment, and international trade in wildlife.


Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment - http://www.unibas.ch/gmba/

GMBA is a new Diversitas-network on mountain biodiversity. Invites submission of contributions to the scientific GMBA conference in Switzerland on Sept.7-10, 2000.


Endangered Species Resource Center - http://www.endangeredspecie.com/

A great place for student and teacher alike to find information on endangered species anywhere in the world.


Rare Species Conservatory Foundation - http://www.rarespecies.org

Preserving biological diversity through wildlife and habitat conservation, environmental education, and captive breeding programs for endangered wildlife.


Biodiversity, Systematics, & Collections - http://www.nbii.gov/biodiversity/index.html

Access to WWW sites that provide information on genetic diversity, species diversity, ecological diversity, and geopolitical perspectives. From the National Biological Information Infrastructure.


Belgian Clearing House on Biodiversity - http://www.kbinirsnb.be/bch-cbd/homepage.htm

Information on biodiversity conservation and use in Belgium and worldwide. Clearing House under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Partnering role for Niger, D.R. of Congo and Mauritania to bring information on biodiversity for those countries on the Internet.


Digital Taxonomy - http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/8695/

An attempt to present a wide-ranging resource of information for biodiversity data management in the World Wide Web, and promote the effective use of computers for handling biological software development projects.


Resources for the Future Library: Biodiversity - http://www.rff.org/nat_resources/biodiversity.htm

Research papers (PDF files) and project summaries related to economic and policy aspects of biodiversity protection. Topics include ecosystem valuation, endangered species laws, and habitat conservation.


National Biodiversity Network - http://www.nbn.org.uk/

A partnership of UK organisations collaborating to create an information network of biodiversity data that is accessible through the Internet.


The Biodiversity Center: Defenders of Wildlife. - http://www.defenders.org/bio-cont.html

Explains what biodiversity is, and presents some of the issues involved.


Endangered Species Canada - http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/sara/

Canadian Wildlife Service site, about endangered species, species at risk, recovery plans, and related topics.


Biodiversity Web - http://www.casema.net/~devalk/

Personally maintained website with information and links about several aspects of biodiversity: biological, ecological, physical, chemical, social (e.g., population growth), economical and juridical. Some links in Dutch language or of particular relevance to Netherlands.


Species Profiles - http://www.wes.army.mil/el/tes/

As part of a larger project designed for the management of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species (TES) on Department of Defense (DoD) lands in the Southeastern United States, animal species profiles are being developed by the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station.


Biodiversity - http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/Biodiversity.asp

This part of the globalissues.org web site looks at the importance of biodiversity from more than just the anthropomorpahsized reasons. It also looks at some of the actions and inactions in the politcal arena concerning biodiversity and biosafety.


Biodiversity Fact Sheet - http://esa.sdsc.edu/biodiv2.htm

What is biodiversity, what threatens it, why is it important, and what are ecologists doing to better understand it? From Ecological Society of America.


BirdLife International - Birds to Watch 2 - http://www.wcmc.org.uk/species/data/birdlife/index.html

The world list of >1000 threatened birds, plus information on threats to birds.


An Ottawa Valley Naturalist - http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Studio/1714/naturalist.html

Biodiversity in urban environments


Virtual Global Biodiversity Forum - http://real.geog.ucsb.edu/vgbf/home.html

Offers people throughout the world who cannot attend GBF gatherings the opportunity to participate in discussion on biodiversity-related issues.


National Wildlife Federation: Endangered Habitats Homepage - http://www.nwf.org/nwf/endangered/

Endangered species fact sheets and related resources.


Mass Extinction Underway - http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html

Excellent list of articles on biodiversity and the impending extinction of thousands of species.


Global Biodiversity - http://www.nature.ca/english/gbzine.htm

The Canadian Museum of Nature's quarterly magazine Global biodiversity covered Canadian and international biodiversity news in science, politics, education, community and individual initiatives between 1991 and 1999.


Biodiversity Assessment Bibliography - http://kaos.erin.gov.au/life/general_info/biodiv_assess.html

Bibliography of papers on methods for assessing biodiversity. Last modified 27 August 1998.


Biodiversity - editor E.O. Wilson, 1988 - http://books.nap.edu/catalog/989.html

Calls attention to the rapidly accelerating loss of plant and animal species to increasing human population pressure and the demands of economic development. Biodiversity creates a systematic framework for analyzing the problem and searching for possible solutions. Online book from National Academic Press.


Biodiversity Series - http://kaos.erin.gov.au/portfolio/esd/biodiv/about_series.html

Collection of on-line papers about the conservation of Australia's biodiversity.


Conservation Fisheries, Inc. - http://conservationfisheries.org/

Non-profit company dedicated to the preservation of aquatic biodiversity in the Southeastern U.S. through captive propagation of rare, threatened, and endangered species of fish.


Value Of Biodiversity - http://www.paisvirtual.com/educacion/comercial/edu26/biodiversity.html

Links to value of wildlife and biodiversity valuation.


Biodiversity: Journal of Life on Earth - http://www.synapse.net/~tropical/biojournal.htm

Biodiversity Journal advocates conservation, sustainable development and wise use of the earth's biological resources. Published by Tropical Conservancy.


Biodiversity in New Zealand - http://www.natureandco.co.nz/conservation/issues/biodiv/index_biodiv.htm

An extensive collection of articles, links and other resources related to biodiversity issues in New Zealand.


Biodiversity Conservation in Britain: Science Replacing Tradition - http://www.eco-action.org/dt/hambler.html

Contrary to the image presented to the public, most conservation is not based on sound scientific principles.


In Situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity - http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/themes/in_situ_project/home/insituhome.htm

The maintenance of the diversity present in and among populations of the many species used directly in agriculture, or used as sources of genes, in habitats where such diversity arose and continues to grow.


On-Farm Conservation: A Global Project - http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/themes/in_situ_project/on_farm/onfarmhome.htm

In situ conservation of crop plants involves the conservation on-farm of local crop cultivars (or landraces) with the active participation of farmers. IPGRI documentation.


Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives in Natural Ecosystems - http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/themes/in_situ_project/home/wild_relatives_home.htm

IPGRI in situ conservation page.


The Biodiversity Clearing House - Concept and Challenges - ftp://ftp.wcmc.org.uk/products/wcmc.publications/2.clearing.house/chm.html

Prepared as an input to discussion on the form the Convention on Biological Diversity clearing house for biodiversity information would take, and the manner in which it would operate. (FTP site).


Biodiversity Data Sourcebook - ftp://ftp.wcmc.org.uk/products/wcmc.publications/1.sourcebook

140 pages of tabular data with supporting text and graphics, on global biodiversity. Topics are covered in a concise way, using tables supported by minimal text and graphics. They include country species diversity, threatened species, national Red Data Books, major food crops, domestic livestock, marine resources, tropical forests, protected areas and systematics collections. (FTP site).


Priorities for Conserving Global Species Richness and Endemism - ftp://ftp.wcmc.org.uk/products/wcmc.publications/3.priorities

Substantial amounts of detailed biodiversity data exist for the world, and these data can be used to guide conservation priorities. WCMC compiled key data in order to identify areas of high species richness and endemism. (FTP site).


The Diversity of the Seas: A Regional Approach - ftp://ftp.wcmc.org.uk/products/wcmc.publications/4.diversity.of.seas

A region-by-region account of select issues in marine biological diversity. Each account includes descriptive text on the oceanography, elements of biodiversity (including estimates of species richness and endemism), and a discussion of marine fisheries and their current status. (FTP site).


Assessing Biodiversity Status and Sustainability - ftp://ftp.wcmc.org.uk/products/wcmc.publications/5.sustainability/

Outlines some approaches to assessment of the status of national biodiversity and the sustainability of its use, focussing mainly on developing nations. (FTP site).


Biodiversity Conservation in the Tropics - Gaps in Habitat Protection and Funding Priorities - ftp://ftp.wcmc.org.uk/products/wcmc.publications/6.tropics/

This study makes use of extensive spatial datasets, previously unavailable, to provide a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of biodiversity throughout the tropics. The extent to which potential habitats and closed moist forests are represented in protected areas is assessed. Priorities for conservation action are identified on the basis of a country's relative importance for a given habitat and the extent to which it is protected. National importance for biodiversity is also examined in relation to natural and foreign investments in protected areas. (FTP site).


Industrial Reliance on Biodiversity - ftp://ftp.wcmc.org.uk/products/wcmc.publications/7.industrial

Provides an overview of the extent to which industry in the developed world relies on the biodiversity of the developing world. (FTP site).


Freshwater Biodiversity: A Preliminary Global Assessment - http://www.unep-wcmc.org/information_services/publications/freshwater/toc.htm

This document provides information on inland waters and their biodiversity, and includes the first global assessment of areas of special importance for freshwater biodiversity, based on expert opinion and data. It also includes a first comparative analysis of major river basins, using indicators of biodiversity, the condition of catchment basins and pressures on water resources, in order to generate indices of importance and risk. (FTP site).


Biodiversity Series - http://www.unep-wcmc.org/resources/publications/biodiv_series.htm

Full text online of UNEP-WCMC series of project results.


Global Tree Campaign - http://www.unep-wcmc.org/trees/Background/intro2.htm

Tree Conservation Information Service. Includes The World List of Threatened Trees (survey of the conservation status of trees species worldwide) and Tree Conservation Database.


Biodiversity and Conservation of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia - http://www.flas.ufl.edu/kinahome

This project is helping researchers and Park personnel to identify culturally significant plant resources and to detect which useful species are most vulnerable to over- harvesting or habitat destruction.


National Park Service Wildlife and Plants Webpage - http://www1.nature.nps.gov/wv/

A website that covers all aspects of plant and animal protection within the US National Park Service.


Threatened Australian Plants - http://www.anbg.gov.au:80/endangered/

From the Australian National Botanic Gardens comes lists of the engangered, vulnerable and extinct species of Australian plants.


Biodiversity Sector, CSIRO - http://www.csiro.au/page.asp?type=sector&id=Biodiversity

Research and capabilities related to biodiversity in Australia's science research agency.


Species 2000 - http://www.sp2000.org/

Has the objective of enumerating all known species of plants, animals, fungi and microbes on Earth as the baseline dataset for studies of global biodiversity. It will also provide a simple access point enabling users to link from here to other data systems for all groups of organisms, using direct species-links.


UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre - http://www.unep-wcmc.org/

Provides information services on conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources, and helps others to develop information systems of their own. Programmes concentrate on species, forests, protected areas, marine and freshwaters; plus habitats affected by climate change such as polar regions. Alos addresses the relationship between trade and the environment and the wider aspects of biodiversity assessment.


ETI - World Biodiversity Database - http://www.eti.uva.nl/

ETI's World Biodiversity Database is a continuously growing taxonomic database and information system that aims at documenting all presently known species (about 1.7 million) and to make this important biological information worldwide accessible.