About

Importance of biodiversity information and GBIF’s role

Decision-making based on scientific knowledge generated through accumulated data is necessary for biodiversity conservation. Since biodiversity data can be complicated due to its many varieties, information infrastructure is indispensable for sharing data in a manner that anyone can understand. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) provides an international biodiversity data portal where users can explore and download biodiversity data.

Since the 2010s, renovation of information and communication technology as well as the open data movement have brought a significant increase in available biodiversity data. An enormous number of occurrence data is accessible via GBIF in cooperation with researchers involved in biodiversity and environmental research, government agencies, citizen science and private enterprise. Occurrence data shows the evidence of what creatures exist where and when based on specimen and observation records, which is basic information for biodiversity research. The data is also provided to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as an important resource.

About BioWM

Biodiversity Web Mapping System (BioWM) aims to promote data publication on GBIF, utilization of GBIF data, and open data in biodiversity science by visualization of biodiversity data.

Biodiversity Division in the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) have published specimen, observation and monitoring data to GBIF, which can be viewed on BioWM maps. We provide mapping mapping systems for our datasets which are "Biodiversity Dataset Search" and “East Fukushima Wildlife”. You can map GBIF data with “GBIF: Explore countries”, “GBIF: Explore taxon” and “GBIF: Search and map species”. “GBIF: Search and map species” can be also used as a system to match scientific name against GBIF backbone taxonomy. For using deliverables of maps, please read the Terms of use .

Techinical information

BioWM is created by Biodiversity Division, NIES using open-source map services and open-source software. Occurrence API v1, Species API v1 and Maps API v2 are used for GBIF occurrence data mapping. Map tiles by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI Japan) and GBIF Map Tile . Map data by OpenStreetMap , GSI Japan . Mapbox GL JS is used for map viewing.

Collaboration with JBIF

We would like to express our gratitude to all JBIF members from whose valuable support and feedback we have benefited throughout the development of the BioWM. JBIF contributes to publish data via GBIF and to promote open data in biodiversity and its utilization in Japan. NIES joined the steering committee of JBIF and its working group in 2014 and has been the Sub-Core Center of JBIF since 2022, thus supporting publishing biodiversity data via GBIF.