08/26/2026
We are very happy to see our collaborative project highlighted by GBIF!
Through this initiative, the Alliance for Manatees in South America - Alliance for Manatees and its partners are bringing together decades of manatee data from across Latin America, making valuable information available for research, conservation and better-informed decision-making.
Beyond data mobilization, this project is about collaboration: connecting institutions and researchers, strengthening regional capacity, and ensuring that knowledge generated over many years can be shared and used to support manatee conservation across their range.
And we are only halfway through the project — much more is still to come!
A huge thank you to all the institutions and people contributing their data, expertise and time, and to GBIF’s Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) programme and the European Union for supporting this collaborative effort; and to Save the Manatee Club for supporting the participation of more researchers in our training workshop in Suriname.
Together, we are building a stronger regional network for manatee conservation. 💙
💧 Oh the hue-manatee!
A new initiative is bringing together decades of manatee records from universities, NGOs and government agencies across South America and Mexico, helping fill critical gaps in open access data records.
The project (supported through the BID programme) involves standardizing and publishing records from surveys, biological collections, rescue programmes and telemetry studies, including satellite tracking data collected using ARGOS and Globalstar transmitters. 🛰️
Alongside mobilizing data, the project is building regional capacity through training on biodiversity data standards and GBIF publishing.
Explore the 10 dataset that have been published through the project so far! 🔗 https://gbif.link/manatee_BID
Learn more about the project: 🔗 https://sibbr.gov.br/page/bid-aquasis.html
SIBBr - Sistema de Informação sobre a Biodiversidade Brasileira ICMBio Alliance for Manatees in South America - Alliance for Manatees Marine Mammal Research Unit UBC (MMRU) University of British Columbia Green Heritage Fund Suriname
