Joana Beja, senior scientific data officer at the Flanders Marine Institute Data Centre (VLIZ) and coordinator of EMODnet Biology, has joined the Biodiversity Meets Data (BMD) project’s External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB). Her involvement brings extensive expertise in marine biodiversity data and the European landscape to the BMD project and further strengthens its collaborative efforts.
BMD will create a centralised digital platform, the Biodiversity Explorer, for managers of natural resources and policymakers to support biodiversity conservation across Europe. It will combine high-throughput biodiversity monitoring tools with AI taxon identification services, enabling faster, more accurate, and more frequent data collection over larger areas and longer timeframes. BMD will also provide tools and guidelines to mobilise historical baseline data and species checklists. Furthermore, the project will develop a data catalogue with biotic and abiotic spatial data that enables the linking of species distribution data to environmental conditions and helps identify the drivers of change. With online projection and analysis tools co-designed with stakeholders, the Biodiversity Explorer will help assess species conservation status, track biodiversity trends, and predict impacts across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms, from local to European scale.
“The invitation to join the BMD EEAB is very timely, as it allows us to reinforce the connections we already have with the wider biodiversity community and ensure that efforts are coordinated across the various initiatives. My contribution to the project will rely on the knowledge and expertise acquired as the coordinator for EMODnet Biology, the EU service for marine biodiversity in situ data.” —Joana Beja, EMODnet Biology
The involvement of EMODnet Biology in the BMD project is explained in a video interview, highlighting opportunities for collaboration not only during the project but also in the future. As coordinator, Joana Beja noted that integration with stakeholders across the three realms, terrestrial, freshwater, and marine, together with the presence of experts in these environments, will create synergies and support the project’s success.
This involvement creates opportunities for expert guidance and strategic input in the development of BMD’s Biodiversity Analysis Tools, which cover the three realms and are designed to turn advanced monitoring into actionable insights, supporting more effective implementation of EU nature directives and informing natural resource management and policy-making.