Measuring biodiversity made easy
Where is the blue macaw found? How many Manelaus Blue Morphos, an iridescent tropical butterfly, are there in the world? And what's the state of tropical trees? These are the kind of questions that the biodiversity monitoring system in Brazil's Serra da Bodoquena National Park hopes to answer. The project is meant to inspire similar initiatives in other protected areas in Brazil. The country is home to some of the world’s highest concentrations of biodiversity. Yet, there's little reliable data on the diversity of species though scientists have long suspected that climate change is contributing to their loss. Now, the country has rolled out a systematic monitoring program that the Brazilian environment ministry has worked on for years with German help. Ordinary citizens are set to contribute at some point. That allows not just scientists but also amateurs to gather important information. Soon a databank is to be made available that will provide reliable information on Brazil's biodiversity. Our reporter Michael Wetzel joined the experiment in the Serra da Bodoquena National Park.
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Information
Length
07:27 Minutes
Date of publication
2014
Project
Global Ideas
