ATBI 1/7 Introduction

[Daniel Janzen]

ATBI WORKSHOP in gory detail, 16-18 April 1993  Part 1 of 7


All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) - A MAJOR TOOL IN PUTTING THE
BIODIVERSITY GREENHOUSE IN ORDER
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       What follows is a series of documents charting the progression
after an IUBS-SCOPE-UNESCO DIVERSITAS meeting in Costa Rica in October
1992, during which the National Biodiversity Insitute (INBio) decided the
time was ripe to begin to develop first a generic protocol for an intense
inventory activity of a single biodiverse site, and then fine-tune it for
a particular site in Costa Rica.  The INBio goal is to both generate a
pilot project for other biodiverse areas and to directly aid in Costa
Rica's efforts to locally conserve biodiversity through non-destructive
use by all walks of society.

        The core question is If someone laid a $25 million check in front
of you and said "you have five years to tell me all the species that are in
those 1OO,OOO ha, at least one place where each of those species lives,
and the beginnings of their natural history, all in an electronic data
management format", what would you do?  That is to say, what would your
battle plan look like?

        All of this is being posted on the Internet as an invitation for
commentary at this forum.  We can be reached at D. H. Janzen and
W. Hallwachs at djanzen at mail.sas.upenn.edu which is at the Department of
Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA19104.  FAX
215-898-8780.  After 23 April 1993, however, through the end of August
1993, this Internet address will be checked only occasionally and Janzen
and Hallwachs can be reached more reliably through a FAX to us at INBio in
Costa Rica, at FAX 506-36-28-16 (airmail:  INBio, 3100 Santo Domingo de
Heredia, Heredia, Costa Rica).

1.  Introduction (this document)

2.  Proposal to NSF for funding of the workshop, 16-18 April 1993,
Philadelphia. Submitted 15 December 1992.  Proposal funded 26 March 1993
by Long Term Research Program.

3.  Cover letter that went to potential participants in the workshop and
another 100 people in search of commentary, 26 December 1992.

4.  Detailed agenda for 16-18 April workshop.

5.  Current participant list for 16-18 April workshop (as of 8 April 1993).

6.  Generic homework assignment for participants, 23 March 1993.

7.  General summary conclusions of a workshop held in the first week of
March 1993 at ERIN in Canberra, Australia, a workshop that dealt with the
question of computerized management and distribution of biodiversity
information, an issue that is core to any ATBI.

The interim and final results of this workshop will be posted here.

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