Czech experts introduced practice in species monitoring and conservation
Collection data on biodiversity is an important part of biodiversity conservation efforts. It is also an obligation of the EU member states to report to the European Commission regularly about the state of species and habitats.
Biodiversity monitoring in the Czech Republic uses data from biodiversity specialists as well as the public (citizen science). Yearly roughly 100 000 entries are added into the species occurance database. The database is an open data source, so anyone can search in it and create maps and other outcomes free of charge (portal.nature.cz/nd – only in Czech). Similar situation exists also in Finland and other European countries.
In the Czech Republic the monitoring is financed through projects from the EU and the state budget, but since monitoring should be a long term effort, its financing should be an integral part of the ministerial budget.
Information and experience on species monitoring and species conservation in the Czech republic was shared and discussed at the seminar hosted by the Ministry of Environment on September 16, 2021. The seminar was attended by 20 people from the Armenian Ministry of the Environment, Dilijan National Park, Sevan National Park, Zangezur Biosphere Complex, Khosrov Forest State Reserve and others.
Map: Species diversity, municipality level. Source: © Nature Conservation Agency of CZ
