Abstract
Since the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, biodiversity has become an important topic for scientific research. Much of this research is focused on measuring and mapping the current state of biodiversity, in terms of which species are present at which places and in which abundance, and making extrapolations and future projections, that is, determining the trends. Biodiversity databases are crucial components of these activities because they store information about biodiversity and make it digitally available. Useful biodiversity databases require data that are reliable, standardized, and fit for up-scaling. This paper uses material from the EBONE-project (European Biodiversity Observation Network) to illustrate how biodiversity databases are constructed, how data are negotiated and scaled, and how biodiversity is globalized. The findings show a continuous interplay between scientific ideals related to objectivity and pragmatic considerations related to feasibility and data availability. Statistics was a crucial feature of the discussions. It also proved to be the main device in up-scaling the data. The material presented shows that biodiversity is approached in an abstract, quantitative, and technical way, disconnected from the species and habitats that make up biodiversity and the people involved in collecting the data. Globalizing biodiversity involves decontextualization and standardization. This paper argues that while this is important if the results of projects like EBONE are to be usable in different contexts, there is a risk involved as it may lead to the alienation from the organizations and volunteers who collect the data upon which these projects rely.
Highlights
It has been suggested that biodiversity is the main issue of the 21st century (Wilson 2000, Bowker 2005)
Since the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, biodiversity has become an important topic for scientific research
This paper argues that while this is important if the results of projects like EBONE are to be usable in different contexts, there is a risk involved as it may lead to the alienation from the organizations and volunteers who collect the data upon which these projects rely
Summary
As social practices generally are, scientific practices of globalizing biodiversity and creating databases are likely to be complex and messy. As will be demonstrated in more detail, EBONE’s project members have to deal with different existing compatible and incompatible biodiversity databases in different countries and regions in Europe They have to develop standards and criteria that guarantee reliability and harmonization, and are feasible and pragmatic at the same time. Within policy studies it is common to distinguish between different administrative levels or scales of governance (local, regional, national, or global) Complex environmental issues such as climate change or biodiversity loss often simultaneously involve two or more conceptions of scale (Meadowcroft 2002, Cash et al 2006). Politics is involved in scale making as “the continuous reshuffling and reorganizations of spatial scales are an integral part of social strategies and struggles for control and empowerment” (Swyngedouw 2000:70) The outcomes of these processes are important because scales, once produced, have real consequences (Bulkeley 2005). Scaling is a scientific practice in the sense that people actively work and cooperate to collect, integrate, process, analyze, and scale up biodiversity data in order to achieve full coverage representations of biodiversity
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