A DARWIN INITIATIVE PROJECT WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management ‘ \\l al Ct YY Ls WY COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT WCMC Handbooks‘0n Biodiversity Information Management Volume 6 Information Management Capacity World Conservation Monitoring Centre WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE Series Editor J.H. Reynolds Zap Commonwealth Secretariat 1998 The World Conservation Monitoring Centre, based in Cambridge, UK, is a joint venture between three partners in the World Conservation Strategy and its successor Caring for the Earth: \UCN — The World Conservation Union, UNEP — United Nations Environment Programme, and WWF — World Wide Fund for Nature. The Centre provides information services on the conservation and sustainable use of species and ecosystems and supports others in the development of their own information systems. The United Kingdom’s Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species, launched at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, aims to support the Convention on Biological Diversity by drawing on Britain’s scientific, educational and commercial strengths to assist in the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s biodiversity and natural habitats. Key tenets of the Darwin Initiative include collaboration and cooperation with local people, capacity building, distinctiveness and complementarity of project initiatives, poverty alleviation, and long-term sustainability. Through training, awareness raising, and research on undervalued areas of biodiversity, Darwin support is particularly aimed at strengthening links between Britain and those countries rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources. Under the auspices of its Environmental Training for Sustainable Development initiative, the Management and Training Services Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat supports short- and long-term training, internships and institution development for environmental policy makers, environmental ‘operatives’, and environmental information professionals in the Commonwealth, in various areas of the environment including biodiversity and gender. Funding support for training, institution development and publications under the aegis of the Management and Training Services Division is provided by the Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC). G ‘WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE Published by Commonwealth Secretariat ISBN 0-85092-549-5 Copyright © 1998 World Conservation Monitoring Centre and United Nations Environment Programme Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorised without prior permission from the copyright holders, provided the source is acknowledged. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purpose is prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright holders. The views expressed in this book do not necessarily reflect those of WCMC or its collaborators. The designations of geographical entities in this report and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WCMC, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species, or other participating organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Citation World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1998. WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Infor- mation Management. Volume 6: Information Management Capacity. Reynolds, J.H. (Series Editor). Commonwealth Secretariat, London. ix + 48pp. Typeset by Bookcraft Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England Cover design Michael Edwards Photography by J.S. Donaldson (Wood’s cycad, Encephalartos woodii); D. & 1. Gordon (Mali landscape; Plant study, Ghana; Thai forest; Rock hyrax, Procavia capensis); \UCN/J. McEachern (Diver and fish); WCMC (Ecoregion and Africa maps; GIS work; Workshop facilitation). Available from IUCN Publications Services Unit 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 ODL, UK Tel: +44 1223 277894; Fax: +44 1223 277175 Email: iucn-psu@wemc.org.uk http://www. iucn.org/bookstore/ Contents Pen OWEEDGEMENTS)..202 9 200-820 Le OPE Vv PE mOIGROUND fe i.e RY BGAN Oh BEd, Se Vii PN ERODUCTION He SN ee, BS ee eee ee 1 PPRNSTIPURONAL SURVEY. 0% . SOR Se ee eee 4 PSP aOverviewie 26s See a oe Re ee, eee 4 ACM ACLOTS LOUASSESS 5 2G. eee nts cael eee SP ne OS ee 5) 2S) SMethOd OiASSESSINENt: .. 412 sc) 32. 9)2 Hea hemp neopets oe ee 6 eae Questionaire Tips". Ps ea Me ee Or 8 Bey ANALYSING THE RESULTS. 202 3°. 55. 2 5S... Be Se A 10 BPM Overnmiow: Piety oo. OR a Le oe ee eee ee 10 Peemectalismeport tsi) 2° 2 ac aha oe eee ee eee eee 10 go eeDataset Catalogue: S oss 2 Le BR ee ee. ee 11 B4 (rAnalysisoPLinkages’ <3). 2.24 2.) Fo Seee) ee eee 12 PaSSeRATEGIC PLANNING: 2.2.55 30... See EE ee ee 16 PRI PRONEIVIEW 2 ahs 5M How many staff does your organisation employ (tick one)? 0 <10 GO 10-25 °D)'25-50 0 50-100 O 100-250 O >250 Enter the mission statement of your organisation: Note any programmes or projects which may be relevant to this survey: Does your organisation have an information strategy? O yes O no Does it have a data quality policy? OO yes O no Does it have a data exchange policy? 0 yes O no 36 WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Indicate whether your organisation manages/uses/needs any of the following information: Manages ___ Uses Land use Forestry Agriculture/livestock Fisheries Nature conservation Indigenous peoples Tourism Water Mining Energy Transport Urban planning Other (please specify) Ecosystems Forest Woodland/scrub Grassland Heathland/moorland Freshwater Coastal and marine Dryland/desert High altitude Other (please specify) Species/genes Mammals Birds Reptiles/amphibians Fish Insects Other invertebrates Bacteria Viruses Plants (higher) Plants (lower) Germplasm/tissue Genebanks Other (please specify) OOOOO0D00000000 O000000000 OD000000000000 OOOOO0000000000 0000000000 OBo000000000000 Volume 6 Information Management Capacity OO000000000000 O000000000 Ob000000000000 37 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (CONT.) Manages Uses Needs Social/ Culture economic/ Health, welfare and equity political Land tenure and property Demography and population Policies, plans and laws Public administration and governance Trade and industry Sustainable development Other (please specify) Physical Hydrology features Geology Soils Topography Climate Other (please specify) OO000000 oo000000000 oO000000 oOo00000000 O000000 oo00000000 EXPERTISE Indicate the number of staff in your organisation with expertise in the following areas: Post Graduate Diploma graduate Strategic planning Project management Quality management Data collection/monitoring Data entry/quality assurance Data analysis Technical writing Graphic design/publishing Communications/marketing Management information systems Geographic information systems Database development Systems management Local area networks Internet access/web-site 38 WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management EXPERTISE (CONT.) Public education/awareness Training/workshops Other technical assistance Forestry Agriculture/livestock Fisheries Nature conservation Indigenous peoples Tourism Water Mining Energy Transport Urban planning Environmental protection Environmental impact assessment Environmental economics Health, welfare and equity Land tenure and property Demography and population Policies, plans and laws Public administration Trade and industry Sustainable development Ecology Biogeography Conservation biology Taxonomy/systematics Hydrology Geology Soils Climate Other (please specify): Post graduate Pea PEE ae. Be Graduate Volume 6 Information Management Capacity Diploma Short course POPE eee ee i 39 EXPERTISE (CONT.) Which areas of expertise does your organisation most need to develop? FACILITIES Indicate what facilities your organisation owns or has access to (in good working order): Communications Telephone Fax Email accounts Internet access points Computers IBM-PC 386 or lower IBM-PC 486 or higher UNIX workstation Macintosh 0000 oooo 0000 ooo00 Other (please specify): Operating systems Windows 3.1/3.11/95/NT UNIX/Linux Macintosh Local Area Network o0000 Other (please specify): Geographic information systems Workstation ARC/INFO ArcView MapInfo Other (please specify): 40 WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management FACILITIES (CONT.) Database Management xBASE Systems Access yes no users: Other ERE E ROR E EERO E HEHE EEE E EEE E HEE EEEEEEEEE EEE ED (please specify): §—eseesseseesesseesesseentacsesencesnssnencntsenees Related software Image processing 0 yes 0 no users: Statistical/modelling 0 yes O no users: Desktop publishing O yes O no users: Graphics/presentation C1 yes O no users: Other Renew eee same e sans reaseeeensneressaseessaesaseasees (please specify): — —10years O >5 years O >1 year 0 >6 months O Immediate future only DATA DEVELOPMENT When did the development of the dataset begin? Describe how the data were originally obtained: 46 WCMC Hanabooks on Biodiversity Information Management DATA DEVELOPMENT (CONT.) Indicate which data standards were followed, if any: Data standard Describe the main processing, interpretation and quality-assurance tasks which were later applied: Task applied Processing Interpretation 0 O Which of the following best describes the status of the data (tick one)? CO Complete © Nearing completion O Under-development O Early stages of development DATA MANAGEMENT Are the data actively managed? How many people help manage the data (tick one)? O None O 1 O 1-5 O >5 How regularly are they updated (tick one)? O Every day O Everyweek O Every month 0 Every quarter C Every six months [ Everyyear © Everytwoyears O Every five years O Everytenyeas OO Never Noneed Other (please specify): When were they last updated? Volume 6 Information Management Capacity 47 ACCESS PROCEDURES Which of the following best describes access to the data (tick one)? OO Unrestricted O Restricted to some © Restricted to most Unavailable for external use Where access is provided, which of the following applies (tick one)? O Free O Free to most 0 Free to some O Charged Where charges are made, how are these determined (optionally tick one)? 0 Cost recovery O Cost plus overhead © Market value Where access is provided, in what formats are the data available (tick any which apply)? O Hardcopy 0 Floppy disk O CD-ROM 0 Email CO Internet (FTP) O Magnetictape © DAT O Private network Other (please specify): Has the dataset been documented for external users? QO yes O no Where access is provided, briefly describe the recommended access procedures: THANKS Congratulations on completing this questionnaire. Your efforts are much appreciated. Please return the questionnaire as soon as possible. 48 WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management “ke RS Re Pa eae Hi ihe chy ett rasan Soi ia a aa ts Trees ars, eae to _. red (a At anf é : sy, ‘e: a : } ae 4 ey th Po DRE a: ee A - ih wo 4 m, : Tee a yi a. bi a Mf 7 ‘a Ta Siew pc eae ‘ 3 ip ee Me: ea ‘ ome a Ss ar Oe) ar i at a, i a Le 4 a. mish 7 i » ra} bs an ‘ier, ee 4 = i C aa . t= exert. * p me ee eS cM fale De } i> oT a a zn , Ave Bd RL * 4 eee ee Sh fei WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management | These handbooks have been developed for use by senior decision-makers and mid-career professionals. They review the issues and processes involved in the management of biodiversity information to support the conservation and sustainable use of living resources. They also provide a framework for the development of national plans and strategies and for meeting reporting obligations of international programmes and conventions. Collectively, the handbook series may be used as a training resource or, more generally, to support institutions and networks involved in building capacity in information management. Companion Volume Volume 1 Information and Policy Volume 2 Information Needs Analysis Volume 3 Information Product Design Volume 4 Information Networks Volume 5 Data Custodianship and Access Volume 6 Information Management Capacity Volume 7 Data Management Fundamentals DARWIN INITIATIVE SECRETARIAT 4-A2 Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street London SWIE 6DE. United Kingdom COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT Marlborough House, Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX. United Kingdom WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE 219 Huntingdon Road Cambridge CB3 0DL United Kingdom Tel: +44 1223 277314 Fax: +44 1223 277136 E-mail: info@wemce.org.uk WCMC Internet Home Page http://www.wemce.org.uk