Dear Ecolleagues: Please have a look at http://ecotropics.pbworks.com
The Wiki Ecoinformatic Web-finder of The Americas derived from New Technologies, WEWANT assists data providers and users of biodiversity management to promptly locate through hyperlinks over 200 datasets and services deployed at http://ecotropics.pbworks.com . WEWANT also equips governments with the best data and services on which to base their biodiversty planning decisions and outline manifold policy options. In this climate change and biodiversity-depleted economy, WEWANT responds to both public and private sectors in supporting users to find biodiversity knowledge as scientific and management tools. For example, many sectors need to identify raw materials from natural sources for biotechnology or bio-nanotechnology processes, evolve biomimicry for industrial designers, emulate biomorphism for architects, develop neobiological industries, enact public policies, report to the United Nations conventions, run statistics analyses and models, enable better biodiversity planning, manage invasive species, develop forest carbon baselines, and elongate biodiversity in order to compensate for reduced emissions from deforestation and ecosystem degradation through REDD Plus. Likely, biodiversity web-based information can be slow to download, exchange, and tools difficult to interact because of the lack of political interoperability among institutions. Since 1996, the Inter American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) at http://www.iabin.net has played a unifying role between data/services providers and users, by facilitating access to digitized data, metadata, and public policy decision support online tools. All in all, one of the major IABIN milestones and contributions is the political overlay of 35 Organization of American States (OAS) member’s countries acceptance of technical protocols and standards to share and contribute biodiversity information. By searching through WEWANT and the IABIN Catalog at http://iabin-catalog.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt , users could search, learn, and contribute to knowledge on specimens, species, ecosystems, invasives, protected areas and pollinators throughout the Americas Hemisphere. This navigation chart leads users through local, national, and regional ecological knowledge to retrieve keystone information they need to make better informed decisions. Ultimately, we run a monthly W3C link checker validator to avoid broken links at this knowledge hub powered by http://validator.w3.org/checklink/ I hope you find it useful for your working day activities. Best, Arturo Restrepo Executive Director Applied Ecology for Tropical Resources Inc http://www.ecotropics.org Email: [email protected] A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization issued as of January 19 2008 by the IRS revenue code and incoprporated under the laws of The District of Columbia in Washington. The mission of Applied Ecology for Tropical Resources Program, Inc. ( ECOTROPICS ) is to empower communities through an integrated management of natural resources. In so doing, we are fostering local practices by implementing applied ecology concepts. ECOTROPICS cornerstone is novel thinking by promoting scientific research and applied solutions to current problems, in tropical and subtropical regions around the globe.
