The Encyclopedia of Life
Great to hear support for this idea from such a distinguished voice as EO Wilson. I have so many plans in this department it's not even funny. Looking forward to the momentum building over the coming year.
EO WILSON'S WISH:
I wish that we will work together to help create the key tool that we need to inspire preservation of Earth's biodiversity: the Encyclopedia of Life.Plan of Execution:
- Join the efforts of key institutions around the world who have begun building momentum to make this happen.
- Build an encyclopedia that lives on the Internet, with an ever-evolving page for every species.
- Ensure that its content does not duplicate existing efforts, but instead incorporates them through linking
- Open the encyclopedia to allow the contribution of thousands of scientists and free access to anyone.
- Make the world aware of the importance of this initiative to inspire preservation of earth's bio-diversity.
We Are Looking For:
- A major web design effort, to create a powerful, flexible, scientifically credible web environment with a user interface that will appeal to a wide-ranging audience.
- A search technology that can aggregate existing biological information and make it easily accessible.
- Creation of a sustainability model that could invite individuals to "adopt a species" in return for a fee, as a possible funding mechanism
- Leading scientists to offer their moral and practical support for the project
- Universities, Museums and other Scientific Institutions, worldwide, to become partners and make available their biological databases
- Educators who can help use the project to inspire a new generation of biologists globally
- Photographers, animators, and film-makers willing to contribute work to the project
- Funders
- A PR and communications partner capable of telling this story in many countries
- Media Partners, online and offline, who can get behind this effort
- Your unique idea on how to realize this vision
Questions we're still asking:
- How do we persuade the many existing owners of valuable biological databases to get involved?
- How do we inspire the public to really participate in this initiative?
- How do we ensure that underdeveloped countries, where many undiscovered species lie, get involved?
- What are creative funding solutions?
