Regional biodiversity information management: fostering participatory science in southern Chile

Abstract

Local management of biodiversity information: fostering community-based science in southern Chile.  The Biodiversity Information Facility for Aysén (SIB-Aysén) is a collaborative and interactive platform for consultation and management of biological data that currently contains more than 10 000 records of some 2800 species of plants, animals, fungi and microalgae present in the sub-Antarctic region of Aysén, Chile. To build the database, records published in specialized journals, informative publications and technical documents validated by the scientific community were compiled and systematized according to the Darwin Core standard. The platform, built using open-access tools, shows for each species a file with a general description, photo gallery and georeferenced records. It is available to the public on the Internet through the link https://kataix.umag.cl/sib-aysen. There is a module for citizen participation that allows local communities to enter their own participatory records, which must be validated by specialists. The participatory process has been developed through various social innovation initiatives such as Hongusto and the Open Laboratory of Subantarctic Sciences, in which scientists and local communities have been involved. This article presents the process of generating this system to expand the knowledge and valuation of local biodiversity.