{"id":771962,"date":"2026-03-31T19:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=771962"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:10:14","slug":"new-scalable-system-for-nationwide-biodiversity-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/new-scalable-system-for-nationwide-biodiversity-monitoring","title":{"rendered":"A New, Scalable System for Nationwide Biodiversity Monitoring"},"author":6921,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1041,318502,472991],"tags":[170542,163382,20422,1301,472641],"arcnews_issues":[493400],"class_list":["post-771962","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collaboration","category-environmental","category-gis","tag-arcgis-enterprise","tag-arcgis-online","tag-arcgis-pro","tag-biodiversity","tag-endangered-species","arcnews_issues-spring-2026","arcnews_sections-news"],"acf":{"short_description":"To document and monitor thousands of species across regions, it\u2019s imperative to have tailored GIS to integrate and harmonize the data.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Many countries have made commitments to protect biodiversity and safeguard its many benefits to people. But achieving these goals requires information systems that address the many facets of biodiversity and different forms of biodiversity data.\r\n\r\nThe successful implementation of such a system requires cooperation among the many agencies, organizations, and communities that take part in biodiversity data collection, management, and analysis. It also involves overcoming the technical challenges of reusing data, making it interoperable, and sharing it.\r\n\r\nNational geospatial biodiversity data comprises thousands of species, documented using a slew of data collection methods, naming conventions, formatting, and metadata. GIS tailored to these unique challenges must be used to integrate and harmonize the data.\r\n\r\nMany governments want such a geospatial data system to support their robust, nationwide biodiversity monitoring strategies and analyses, which inform conservation decision-making. That\u2019s what Map of Life\u2014a global initiative led by the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change\u2014is building. Working alongside Esri and with support from the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, Map of Life participants are collaborating with national government partners worldwide to develop the National Biodiversity Information System (NBIS), a robust, private, and flexible platform for managing, visualizing, and analyzing biodiversity data."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":771963,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

How the NBIS Works<\/h2>\r\nThe NBIS accommodates the diverse entities often involved in national biodiversity monitoring and conservation. It has built-in systems to harmonize and standardize data, plus customizable data-sharing options.\r\n\r\nUsing public global datasets supplied through Map of Life, the NBIS serves regularly updated information about thousands of species, including their conservation statuses; distribution data; and trends in habitat areas, connectivity, and protection. Additionally, Map of Life is developing high-resolution species distribution models to help fill data gaps and inform monitoring strategies. These models are the result of years of research and development by Map of Life participants, and they continue to be refined through global partnerships.\r\n\r\nThe NBIS is built on ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online with a bespoke front-end design\u2014a combination that provides a unique integration of robust data management infrastructure with a highly customizable and interactive user interface. This system delivers species data dashboards, regional biodiversity data layers, national and subnational biodiversity indicators, and integrations with ArcGIS Pro for more detailed analysis. These features were codesigned with government partners around the world to ensure they meet agencies\u2019 unique needs for both efficient data management and real-time decision support.\r\n\r\nIn addition to managing species-level data, the NBIS provides users with three biodiversity indicators:\r\n