eNews
#06 2025
Datos Vivos! Breathing life into biodiversity data at Living Data 2025
By Daniëlle Seymour, Curation Specialist: Biological Data, SAEON uLwazi Node
In October, I travelled to Bogotá, Colombia, to attend Living Data 2025, or as it resonated in its host city, Datos Vivos. The phrase felt especially fitting. Throughout the conference, it became clear that biodiversity data is not just information on a server; it is living knowledge, continuously shaped by people, ecosystems and the changing planet we are trying to understand.
The conference brought together more than 1 000 in-person and virtual participants, and four major international biodiversity networks – GBIF, OBIS, TDWG and GEO BON – for a week of workshops, discussions and strategic conversations. Across more than 90 sessions, one message echoed strongly: at a time of accelerating biodiversity loss, the quality, accessibility and longevity of biodiversity data are more important than ever.
A recurring theme was the growing fragility of global biodiversity data infrastructures. Despite decades of investment, many platforms rely on short-term, project-based funding.
Daniëlle Seymour, Curation Specialist: Biological Data, presenting work underway at the uLwazi Node on integrating the Ecological Metadata Language into the SAEON Open Data Platform.
Representing SAEON on the global stage
I presented work underway at the SAEON uLwazi Node on integrating the Ecological Metadata Language (EML) into the SAEON Open Data Platform. This drew interest from international colleagues also navigating the complexities of interoperability and metadata harmonisation.
The session opened valuable conversations around semantic data workflows and reinforced the relevance of SAEON’s work within global data communities. What stood out, was how many organisations face similar challenges: fragmented systems, limited resources and increasing expectations for open, standardised data. Yet, within these challenges lies a shared sense of urgency and collaboration.
Reflections: The future of ‘living’ data
A recurring theme was the growing fragility of global biodiversity data infrastructures. Despite decades of investment, many platforms rely on short-term, project-based funding. As a result, the gap between data generation and long-term data stewardship is widening, particularly in regions with fewer technical and institutional resources. The conference emphasised that open data alone is not enough. Data must be curated, contextualised and translated into insight, otherwise it remains unused, unseen and ultimately unable to inform policy or conservation action.
Another reflection was the stark imbalance in global data contributions. Africa remains significantly under-represented in open biodiversity databases, not due to a lack of biodiversity or data collection, but rather uneven infrastructure, capacity and funding. This imbalance matters because global biodiversity metrics, and the decisions built on them, are only as robust as the data they include.
Against this backdrop, SAEON’s long-term mandate becomes even more strategic. Our responsibility is not only to generate, store and make data openly available, but to contribute to ensuring that South Africa’s biodiversity information is visible, usable and part of global evidence bases that shape environmental policy.
The conference brought together more than 1 000 in-person and virtual participants.
Looking ahead
“Datos Vivos” is both a statement and a challenge: biodiversity data must be kept alive, through sustained investment, inclusive governance and the collective effort of scientists, data stewards and communities.
As global networks shift toward more integrated and interoperable systems, SAEON’s role becomes increasingly important. We are positioned not only to support national biodiversity knowledge but also to contribute meaningfully to international frameworks and collaborations.
Living Data 2025 reminded us that the work of data stewardship is not passive. It is active, evolving and profoundly connected to the health of our planet. Biodiversity data lives through the people who curate it, the communities who rely on it, and the decisions it helps shape. And in Bogotá, Colombia, for one inspiring week, those data – and the people behind them – truly felt alive.
An information board in Bogotá, Colombia, conveyed an important message. Throughout the conference, it became clear that biodiversity data is living knowledge, continuously shaped by people, ecosystems and the changing planet we are trying to understand.
