ZSL Conservation
Improving coverage Building the Living Planet Database is an ongoing project supported by an expanding network of collaborators, who are regularly adding high quality population data to the LPD. Such data increase the coverage of the LPD and help to target population data from poorly known taxonomic groups and regions. In addition, information on the ecology, locality and threats for each population is collected to enhance the utility of the LPD. This enables the creation of indices with specific Š WWF-Canon / Martin HARVEY
applications, such as for species with certain life history traits or populations under particular pressures.
Interactive data sharing The Living Planet Database is now online at www.livingplanetindex.org. This database allows all users to view and download information that is most meaningful to them. Users from the LPI network can add population data, monitor content from their region or species of interest and export raw data for analysis. The online database will not only facilitate the expansion of the data set, but will also make the LPI available in a more transparent and accessible format.
Š Glenn Grant, National Science Foundation
Long-term project visions The current data set needs to be expanded to represent a greater variety of habitats and species, particularly from tropical regions. Future applications of the LPI will test the method at different scales by creating national and regional indicators and for different species groups, such as investigating the suitability of the indicator for plants and invertebrates. The LPD has the potential to provide a broad range of biodiversity indicators relevant to the CBD and other international conventions. It will be a vital tool in measuring the impact of policy decisions and monitoring future Š Bpavacic
targets for biodiversity conservation.
For more information on this project please contact info@livingplanetindex.org or visit www.livingplanetindex.org for more details and individual contact information. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of all our collaborators, a list of whom can be found on our website.
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