Biodiversity Portal for New Caledonia
The Biodiversity Portal for New Caledonia aims to open up and promote more than 80 years of scientific collections and data gathered across the archipelago—one of the world’s biodiversity “hotspots”. Led by the CRESICA consortium and IRD, this project is designed for researchers as well as the general public, schools and local stakeholders.
Why a portal for New Caledonia?
New Caledonia is a treasure of biodiversity, with nearly 3,500 plant species (75% endemic), emblematic animals (kagu, dugong, flying foxes, turtles, corals…), and unique ecosystems shaped by millions of years of isolated evolution.
To preserve and share this heritage, the portal brings together:
- Herbaria (100,000 sheets, 90% collected locally),
- Scleractinian coral collections (3,500 specimens),
- Macroalgae (25,000 sheets),
- Fish, birds, marine invertebrates, etc.
- Soon: mineralogical data, entomological collections and educational resources.
Goals
- Showcase public collections and databases,
- Provide access to data for all audiences,
- Facilitate interoperability with national (SINP/INPN) and global (GBIF) portals,
- Offer participatory tools (citizen science, BioCollect),
- Translate and disseminate in French, English and Kanak languages,
- Foster local, national and international collaboration.