For Implementing the Science and Technology Popularization Law, the Official Website of the Relevant Natural Resources Authorities to Add a Column for the Scientific Communication of Biological Species Information | CBCGDF OceanWetlands Reports

With the date of the 2025 National Two Sessions, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) Two Sessions Proposal Working Group plans to hold the 10th "National Two Sessions/Proposal Proposal Meeting" at 9 am on February 20, 2025. At present, the collection of proposals for the National Two Sessions is also in full swing. Recently, the editorial department of OceanWetlands of the CBCGDF received a draft proposal for the two sessions: For Implementing the Science and Technology Popularization Law, the Official Website of the Relevant Natural Resources Authorities to Add a Column for the Scientific Communication of Biological Species Information.

Content: Science popularization is an important part of the national innovation system and a basic work for achieving innovative development. As one of the contracting parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, my country shoulders important responsibilities in strengthening biodiversity protection and promoting the construction of ecological civilization. Establishing a sound biodiversity science popularization mechanism is an important basis for promoting the improvement of citizens' scientific literacy and protection actions. It is recommended that the official website of the natural resources department set up a popular science column for biological species (including animals, plants, and fungi) to provide authoritative, accurate, and easy-to-understand species information to strengthen the country's science and technology popularization capabilities and improve the scientific and cultural quality of citizens.

(I) Current status and problems that need to be improved

Although my country has made significant progress in scientific communication, there are still many problems in the integration and popularization of biodiversity-related information, such as:

First, the information is scattered and difficult to retrieve. In long-term research and practice, we found that the data related to animal and plant species information is mainly scattered on websites such as different scientific research institutes, conservation organizations, local departments, and search libraries. When looking for specific species information, the public and researchers often face problems such as difficulty in retrieval, repeated or incomplete information, or even commercial orientation or even wrong information.

Second, lack of authority and lack of a unified outlet. At present, the public has limited channels to obtain popular science knowledge of biodiversity, and a large amount of information comes from social media or non-professional platforms. This information may be insufficiently scientific and misleading, which affects the public's understanding and support for nature conservation. However, the information from commercial search engines is often wrong, lacks authority, and is even misleading.

 

Third, there is a lack of popular science and insufficient public participation. There is a lack of popular science content on species information for the general public. Some important information related to species protection has not been presented intuitively through pictures, texts, videos, etc., which affects the dissemination effect and educational value of information.

In contrast, many countries around the world have established similar mechanisms through government department websites, providing rich and authoritative species information and popular science content on government websites for public services, which are easy to retrieve and become reliable and credible basic science communication materials, which are well received by the public. my country's scientific communication can learn from these experiences and establish similar popular science platforms on official websites to create authoritative information sources worthy of public trust.

(II) Necessity Analysis

In response to the above problems, it is recommended that the relevant natural resources authorities in my country (such as the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, etc.) set up popular science columns on animal and plant species information on their official websites to solve problems such as information dispersion and insufficient public awareness, promote popular science, enhance public awareness of protection, and promote the participation of the whole society in biodiversity conservation.

(III) Specific suggestions and measures

1. It is recommended that the official website of the Ministry of Natural Resources provide a column for species information of wild animals and plants, and each species corresponds to a page, systematically providing detailed and latest species scientific information, distribution range, pictures (open access to its picture copyright), threat factors, endangered level, existing protection measures and other content, so that the public can easily search, access and understand.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs sets up a species information column for aquatic and wild species involved in fisheries and important food and agricultural genetic varieties involved in agriculture, and each species sets up a special page on the official website, the same as above.

3. Promote scientific research cooperation and data sharing. The establishment of a column can integrate and open authoritative data related to species, provide important basic resources for scientific research institutions, universities and conservation organizations, and promote data sharing and cooperative research. This data openness model can also support the application of artificial intelligence technology in the fields of species identification and ecological monitoring, and help scientific and technological innovation.

4. The species information pictures published on the official website of government departments should clearly mark the copyright status of the pictures, and give priority to the use of open access copyright agreements (such as CC BY-SA 4.0 or more relaxed agreements). Allow the public to legally obtain species information and use images for non-commercial purposes such as education, scientific research, and publicity, thereby expanding the influence and dissemination of biodiversity conservation and improving the public's scientific literacy. At the same time, ensure the legitimacy of the source of the image and the rights of the author, provide users with clear copyright guidance, and avoid legal risks caused by unclear copyright. This method can also encourage more photographers and institutions to contribute high-quality resources and jointly promote the popularization of biodiversity conservation.

(IV) Suggestions from the handling department

In accordance with Article 15 of the "Science and Technology Popularization Law of the People's Republic of China", it is recommended that the science and technology administrative department of the State Council lead this work. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will take the lead, and the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other departments will assist in promoting it.

Original Chinese article:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TFYY8-PvXZ91xiAcJR0hgg

Translator: Daisy        

Reviewed by Sara

Editor: Daisy

Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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