I 100% agree; scientific data should be completely available to the public. Transparency is just an all around a good practice, but more importantly, conservation efforts rely on collaborative range maps (I am a coordinator for FrogWatch USA and I contribute to these range maps). But that does beg the question: how do we make sure this information isn't used irresponsibly? An entire species could be wiped out because of what information is made available; how do we make sure that doesn't happen?
how do we make sure this information isn't used irresponsibly? An entire species could be wiped out because of what information is made available; how do we make sure that doesn't happen?
These are great questions, and unfortunately I don't have any good answers for them.
I 100% agree; scientific data should be completely available to the public. Transparency is just an all around a good practice, but more importantly, conservation efforts rely on collaborative range maps (I am a coordinator for FrogWatch USA and I contribute to these range maps). But that does beg the question: how do we make sure this information isn't used irresponsibly? An entire species could be wiped out because of what information is made available; how do we make sure that doesn't happen?
These are great questions, and unfortunately I don't have any good answers for them.