An international team representing 73 museums and herbaria worldwide, including researchers from the CSIC, emphasizes the need to coordinate natural history collections across the globe. The aim is to make these resources truly accessible to confront climate change and biodiversity loss. The article, signed by more than 150 experts from 30 countries, appears in Science’s latest issue.
The challenge is that many objects, materials, and specimens sit scattered in museums and research centers worldwide, yet their information remains unavailable or inaccessible.
Our assessment of natural history collections reveals a pressing need to analyze, systematize, preserve, and share the data contained in these holdings, says a director from a leading natural history museum in Washington, DC. That city hosts several of the world’s most important collections.
Most information remains inaccessible
For this study, researchers evaluated the state of scientific infrastructures devoted to natural history collections and found that more than 1,100 million objects are preserved in the world’s 73 largest museums. A formal CSIC press release underscores this point.
A workforce of about 4,500 researchers and 4,000 volunteers contribute to these collections. Much of the data tied to these holdings is either unavailable or not fully documented. In reality, only about 16% of objects have been digitized, and a mere 0.2% hold genetic records.
“Treating all collections as a single entity before digitizing”
The study aims to quickly and accurately evaluate the contents of any collection, so that all collections can function as a unified resource before digitization begins, explains Ignacio Doadrio, deputy director of collections at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC).
“A framework has been developed, defined by a grid of 19 collection types and 16 regions. This enables any object in a collection to be placed within one of 304 grid cells,” states a researcher from MNCN-CSIC.
A field demanding substantial investment
“Natural history collections underpin our understanding of the planet and humanity’s role within it. We confront planetary boundaries in areas like energy use, food demand, deforestation, and climate-emitting activities. In this complex web, these collections serve as a crucial channel for biodiversity conservation, mineral resource management, and the bioeconomy,” notes the MNCN-CSIC director.
The authors also point out that despite the vast size of the collections, gaps remain in regions such as the tropics, polar zones, and marine ecosystems. They acknowledge that museum concentration in North America and Europe, rooted in historical colonial ties, hinders knowledge sharing and sustains power imbalances. The future goal is to ensure the global collection reflects and supports museums across the planet.
Despite its importance, access to collection information remains limited and is at risk. The issues go beyond infrastructure investment and the skilled personnel who maintain these assets. Incidents such as fires in cities like Rio de Janeiro and New Delhi, and even armed conflict in Ukraine, where a missile struck the National Herbarium in October 2022, have highlighted the fragility of this knowledge base.
Today, the impact of collections is hindered by difficulties in access and a lack of staff and infrastructure for global coordination. Although initiatives like GBIF, DISSCo, and GRSciColl exist to digitize and consolidate holdings, this article presents the first global approach to address these shortcomings. It emphasizes ensuring that natural history museums and their collections grant access to the data they store, extending back centuries of material collection. Such an effort could prove invaluable for solving current challenges, according to Zardoya.
“Securing funding and international cooperation is vital to advance activities that enable us to use the data from the samples we protect,” he adds.
Practical recommendations
Signed by more than 150 experts traveling through Brazil and Russia, spanning nearly thirty countries from Kenya to Australia, the article offers these recommendations:
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In 2100, decisions about the future will rely on what is gathered today; there is a need to accelerate building a materials knowledge base that supports ongoing collection management.
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Data collected by hundreds of institutions over the last three centuries should form the backbone of ecosystem recovery plans, giving scientific institutions new momentum.
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Data collection and sharing must be guided by ethical standards that consider all participants. Museums should engage local communities and include their perspectives and needs.
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Building a global infrastructure should account for regional collections as bridges to larger holdings, offering rich local context and information.
The development of a global scientific infrastructure can provide essential support in pursuing solutions. The authors present these recommendations as a roadmap for museums, foundations, governments, and industries to accelerate and coordinate their efforts to build this global collection. It could help alter the current trajectory of climate change and biodiversity loss in the coming years, according to Zardoya.
“Securing funding and international cooperation is vital to advancing activities that allow the use of sample data we guard,” he adds.
closing thoughts
The initiative began before the pandemic as a proposal from a widely respected director, but COVID-19 shifted priorities and delayed progress. A board meeting held in October 2022 to mark a milestone for the MNCN-CSIC fostered momentum toward building a global collection. The director suggests that the alignment of efforts around this goal is likely to continue moving forward.
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