By training local collection managers and data users, this project represents a first step toward establishing biodiversity informatics practices in Haiti.
The biodiversity of Haiti is particularly vulnerable, and precise checklists are lacking, despite the existence of species inventories Haiti’s protected areas. Factors like extreme poverty and political instability make conservation particularly difficult, and ongoing efforts face constant challenges from logging for coal and agriculture. Meanwhile, forest now covers less than 1.5% of the country's territory, and key remaining biodiversity areas are shrinking, with dramatic consequences for the Haitian population.
The project aims to:
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Digitize and publish the plant specimen information of the herbarium of the Cayes Botanical Garden to GBIF
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Encourage other Haitian institutions to digitize and publish their biodiversity information
Achieving these goals will improve knowledge about the present state of the country's biodiversity and make it accessible to Haitian officials and citizens alike.
