In a significant step towards transforming biodiversity research, a group of 51 experts from ten different countries convened at the historic 7th-century monastery in Disentis, Switzerland in August 2024. This gathering marked an important 10-year follow-up to the 2014 meeting held at Meise Botanic Garden in Belgium, which produced the Bouchout Declaration on open biodiversity knowledge management. The Disentis symposium aimed to evaluate the progress that has been made since the Bouchout Declaration and to set priorities for the next decade concerning the sharing of biodiversity data.
One of the major outcomes from this symposium is a new, ambitious initiative aimed at liberating data that is currently locked within research publications. This initiative has been branded as the “Libroscope.” The term “Libroscope” indicates a mechanism that aspires to unlock and connect data gleaned from scientific literature, thereby enhancing our comprehension of biodiversity in a manner similar to how the microscope and telescope revolutionized scientific inquiry. By utilizing existing technologies and workflows, the Libroscope does not propose the construction of an entirely new technical infrastructure, instead opting to build upon the foundational work that has already been done.
During the Disentis meeting, the symposium participants openly acknowledged the considerable advancements that have taken place in sharing and using open biodiversity data over the last decade. However, they also voiced their concerns that accessing data embedded within research publications remains cumbersome, due to disparate databases that lack connectivity to one another or to the original source literature. This glaring issue is significant because an estimated 500 million pages of data are trapped within the confines of scientific publications. Thus, the mission of liberating and linking data derived from these sources presents a compelling challenge that the scientific community must confront over the next decade.
The symposium resulted in a roadmap for action that is intended to guide the biodiversity research sector over the next ten years. Central to this vision is the idea that by the year 2035, the immense power of biodiversity knowledge derived from research publications should be fully maximized within an open science framework. This means that data discovery, accessibility, and reusability across various scientific disciplines and policy applications should be facilitated without obstacles. There is a growing consensus that unimpeded access to biodiversity knowledge is essential for tackling pressing global challenges, as articulated by prominent figures in biodiversity research.
Signatories of the so-called “Disentis Roadmap” include a diverse array of institutions, academic organizations, and individual researchers from around the globe. As it stands, 26 institutions and 46 individual experts have already endorsed the Disentis initiative. This list encompasses prominent natural history institutions such as Meise Botanic Garden and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, alongside crucial infrastructures like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Biodiversity Heritage Library. These endorsements illustrate a true unity of purpose around the goal of enhancing biodiversity knowledge through improved access to data.
The roadmap outlines several specific goals that must be realized by 2035. Among these goals, it includes that all major public biodiversity research funders and academic publishers will encourage and facilitate the publication of data adhering to the FAIR principles—findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability. This stipulation recognizes the current gap in making biodiversity-focused publications machine-actionable, allowing their non-copyrightable components to seamlessly funnel into public data repositories. The need for published research on biodiversity to be “fully AI-ready” emphasizes the urgency of ensuring that this vital scientific information is not only accessible but also appropriately structured for artificial intelligence training, within ethical and legal frameworks.
Financial support is highlighted as crucial for the successful implementation of this roadmap. Dedicated funding from a range of research grants and infrastructure support will be essential for guaranteeing ongoing access to biodiversity data and knowledge. The integration of such financial resources speaks to the broader fabric of sustainability that underpins successful biodiversity research.
A range of distinguished voices within the field, including Donat Agosti from the Swiss organization Plazi, have articulated the transformative potential associated with the Disentis initiative. Agosti emphasized that with the advent of digital technologies, researchers now have a unique opportunity to achieve profound insights into biodiversity by synergizing modern genomic methods with vast troves of data published in the scientific literature. This amalgamation, he contended, could lead to a quantum leap in understanding and monitoring biodiversity that has profound implications for conservation efforts globally.
Recent developments in scholarly communication, such as the launch of new data portals for journals like the European Journal of Taxonomy and Biodiversity Data Journal, showcase real-world applications of the principles outlined in the Disentis Roadmap. These portals embody the essence of the Libroscope concept, demonstrating how taxonomic literature can be harnessed to create usable data objects. These data objects are anticipated to flow into various platforms, including GBIF, which facilitates broader access and long-term sustainability of the biodiversity knowledge produced within scientific publications.
Furthermore, the roadmap has garnered enthusiastic endorsements from various prominent figures in the scientific community, including Laurence Bénichou, the founder and liaison officer of the European Journal of Taxonomy. According to Bénichou, adherence to the Disentis vision marks a crucial turning point aimed at liberating and enhancing our understanding of biodiversity. Such sentiments are echoed by other institutional representatives, each highlighting the shared belief among researchers and publishers that open biodiversity data is essential for addressing contemporary environmental crises.
As the Disentis Roadmap continues to evolve, the participation of institutions and individuals from diverse fields and global regions remains paramount. Calls for engagement from emerging researchers, established scientists, and funding bodies underscore the collaborative spirit necessary for achieving the initiative’s objectives. It is anticipated that the launch of an actionable plan at the Living Data conference in Bogotá, Colombia in October 2025 will catalyze further engagement and commitment toward realizing the roadmap’s vision.
In summary, the Disentis meeting represents not merely a moment of reflection on past achievements but also a stepping stone toward a more equitable and functional configuration of biodiversity data. Through the advances set in motion by the Disentis Roadmap, the scientific community is poised to approach biodiversity research with renewed vigor. By addressing the challenges posed by inaccessible data, leveraging existing technologies, and embracing a shared commitment to open science, we may navigate the path forward, crucial for biodiversity conservation in an increasingly complex world.
Subject of Research: Liberation of biodiversity data from research publications
Article Title: Disentis Roadmap: A Quantum Leap for Biodiversity Knowledge
News Publication Date: August 2024
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Image Credits: Disentis Roadmap
Keywords: Biodiversity, Data Liberation, Open Science, Disentis Roadmap, FAIR Principles, Libroscope, Global Collaboration, Research Funding
