Information collection and sharing is vital in the fight for conservation - BPOTY supports the work of National Biodiversity Network (NBN).

The BPOTY team is convinced that information and the sharing of knowledge are vital elements in the fight for conservation. If you don't know what's out there, how will you ever know what to protect and how to conserve it? In the context of the UK we believe that the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) is the key to success. NBN is a collaborative project, but, above all else, it is a partnership, which involves many of the UK's wildlife conservation organisations, the government and country agencies, environmental agencies, local environmental records centres and also many voluntary groups. All of these organisations collect and use biodiversity data and they are all committed to making this information widely available. NBN's work is facilitated by the NBN Trust, an independent charity. 

NBN's vision is to improve how we, the wider naturalist community, records, collects, collates and analyses biological data in the UK. The aim is to get as many people as possible involved recording wildlife by as standardised a process as possible. Remember that the collection of data is not just an academic exercise: as an example, it is profoundly important in the planning process in an age when data is all. From personal experience we at BPOTY can vouch for the organisation's role in safeguarding biodiversity. All power to NBN.

Records of the existence of Hazel Dormouse provided by NBN to one of BPOTY’s Directors, recently proved vital in securing the long-term conservation future of a sensitive site in Hampshire. Photo ©Andrew Cleave/Nature Photographers Ltd.