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The Endemic Species Research Institute in Taipei intends to develop a Biodiversity Geographic Information System. It will consist of an internet portal driven by a GIS. The developers say it will offer users a more convenient query interface, and better data management and survey tools.

Taiwan features an abundance of animals and plants. It has over 4200 named species of vascular plants, over 5740 species of fungi, and over 19,000 species of wild animals. Many of these are found no where else.

In the past 50 years, a population explosion, rapid economic development, and inappropriate use of natural resources have combined to seriously damage the ecosystems and cause the extinction or near-extinction of many species.

In 1990, former provincial governor Chiu Chuang-Huan called for the establishment of the centre, to conserve Taiwan's existing endemic species and genetic diversity and sustain the long-term balance of its ecosystems.

Since that time, the centre has grown in complexity. It has a number of projects, a large number of researchers, and makes significant efforts in community education.

The new system is designed to help all these potential users. It is being built on software developed by a local GIS developer, SuperGeo Technologies.

The platform will provide three functions: the ability to ask queries about species, to upload data and to track the usage of the data provided.

The Query module will allow users to ask a a sophisticated range of questions. It could be a text question using key words or concerned with geographic range or maps.

The system provides three methods of collecting data. User can file reports on line, upload pictures, or generate spreadsheets for the results of big surveys.

The system offers the registered users several services according to the information that users have provided, including user profile, survey data, survey album, tracks and statistic data. This allows each user to see how their data are used and thus may arouse users’ interests to offer more data.

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