Butterfly Conservation Data Access Policy
Version date: 14/09/2004
This data access policy outlines Butterfly Conservation’s general principles concerning data
dissemination and use. It has been developed in conjunction with the National Biodiversity
Network to provide and explain standards in the collation, management and dissemination of
biological data. It supports specific agreements, such as the Butterflies for the New
Millennium Recording Form Statement, and the Data Request Form and Standard Terms
and Conditions for users of BNM data.
Introduction
We are fortunate in Britain and Ireland to have many skilled and dedicated amateur
naturalists. This has been the case for centuries and, thanks to their hard work, the flora and
fauna of our islands are better documented than those of any other country on earth.
Butterfly Conservation collects, collates and manages a large amount of biological data, such
as butterfly and moth distribution records and monitoring data. Most of these data are
collected by amateur naturalists and volunteers (including Butterfly Conservation members
and others) and Butterfly Conservation holds, manages and uses the data with their consent
for public benefits such as nature conservation, education and research. Such data form the
foundation of almost all work to conserve species and habitats and the collection and use of
these data are fundamental to achieving Butterfly Conservation’s objectives.
It is normally in Butterfly Conservation’s interests that biological data are widely available to
organisations and individuals to support decision making in nature conservation, from site
management through to national policy and international research. However, some uses may
not be in keeping with Butterfly Conservation’s objectives, or be appropriate for the data (e.g.
resulting in misleading research interpretations of the data). There may be other restrictions
to dissemination of data (e.g. records may be deemed sensitive). In addition, recorders retain
a number of legal rights (broadly known as ‘copyright’) over their records, even after they
have been passed on and collated into larger data sets. For these important reasons, it is
essential that all persons and organisations involved in the transmission of a record, from the
field observation to the end user, understand and agree with terms and conditions (including
the legal framework) that govern the collation and dissemination of data by Butterfly
Conservation.
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Principles of data access
The following principle forms the basis upon which Butterfly Conservation makes decisions
about the availability and use of the biological data that it manages:
Guiding data access principle: Butterfly Conservation and project partners wish to
maximise the use of biological data for the conservation of moths, butterflies and
their habitats. Records submitted to the Butterfly Conservation recording and
monitoring schemes will be made available, in a controlled and managed way, to
third parties for use. This may be in conservation decision making, the planning
(development control) system, research, education, policy development, increasing
public awareness and other related uses in line with Butterfly Conservation’s
charitable objectives. Third parties are likely to include nature conservation
charities, statutory/government agencies, local authorities, ecological consultancies
and academic researchers, both in the UK and internationally.
Butterfly Conservation may make a charge for the administration of data requests,
but the records will not be sold. Recorder names may be provided as part of data
requests to third parties, but contact details will not be passed on.
Acknowledgement of recorders is encouraged but is not always possible.
Butterfly Conservation supports the seven National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Data
Exchange Principles and these form the basis for the guiding principle above and the
following specific principles of this data access policy:
1. Biodiversity data (i.e. distribution records of species or habitats and species population
monitoring data) should be easily accessible so that they can be used for nature
conservation decision making, education, research and other public-benefit purposes.
2. Making biodiversity data available should reduce the risk of damage to moth and butterfly
populations and their habitats. If the release of information is likely to have the opposite
effect, then access to data may need to be restricted.
3. Butterfly Conservation will provide descriptions (termed ‘metadata’) of the data sets that it
holds. These descriptions will include information on data set ownership, species and
habitats covered, methods and scale of collection, date period and geographical area
covered and limitations of interpretation. The descriptions will be sufficient to allow
potential users to assess whether the data sets meet their requirements.
4. Butterfly Conservation needs to have clear authority to use the data that we receive from
our recorders. All recorders that submit data to Butterfly Conservation retain ownership of
their own records. We ask for clear permission from recorders to use these records to
produce our own databases of moth and butterfly data. We make it clear to our recorders
that these data will be used in accordance with this policy. Butterfly Conservation has
taken steps to ensure that this is the case by adopting the latest NBN guidance
(effectively the ‘industry standard’) on recording form statements and publicity to make
recorders aware of their rights and the uses to which their data are being put.
5. Through this Data Access Policy and documents specific to each data set, Butterfly
Conservation is making public the terms and conditions governing use of the biodiversity
data sets that it holds.
6. Personal data associated with biodiversity data (e.g. the recorder’s name and address)
will be managed in accordance the Data Protection Act 1998 and/or any subsequent
legal provisions. Butterfly Conservation is registered with the Data Protection Registrar
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and is developing a Privacy Policy, which will be publicly available. Personal data will not
normally be released to data users, although recorder names may be passed on in some
cases, where there is a clear reason or need. Recorders’ contact details will not be
passed on to data users, but may be shared and accessed by Butterfly Conservation
Branches.
7. a). Butterfly Conservation will make basic information freely available (e.g. through the
Butterfly Conservation web site or NBN Gateway) for not-for-profit decision-making,
education, research and other public-benefit purposes.
b). Butterfly Conservation will try to arrange sufficient funding of recording and monitoring
schemes so that charges for not-for-profit uses are minimal and charges for commercial
uses are realistic and do not prevent the use of biodiversity data.
c). Major users of Butterfly Conservation data sets should expect to help sustain the
availability of moth and butterfly data by contributing financially (or in kind) to the costs of
collection, collation and management of these data sets.
Butterfly Conservation data sets
Butterfly Conservation currently holds three major data sets of biological records all of which
rely heavily on the hard work, skill and support of volunteer recorders:
•
Butterflies for the New Millennium recording scheme (Appendix 1)
Over 3.5 million butterfly distribution records from 1690-present covering all butterfly
species across the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. Each
record consists of a minimum of species name, grid reference (minimum resolution of
10km square and maximum of 100m square) and date. Most also have recorder
name or source, site name and, many recent records have a measure of the numbers
of individuals of each species seen. The records cover over 98% of the 3889 10km
squares in the survey area.
•
National Scarce Moth Recording Scheme (Appendix 2)
About 50,000 distribution records of Nationally Scarce and Red Data Book macromoths from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from 1800-present. The
current emphasis of the recording scheme is on UK Biodiversity Action Plan macromoths.
•
Butterfly transect data
Several million records and c. 500,000 annual indices (species/site) of butterfly
transect monitoring data from over 800 sites across the UK. The indices provide a
standardised measure of population size for all species at monitored sites. Sites
monitored for varying date periods within the range 1976-present.
Appendices to this Data Access Policy describe these Butterfly Conservation data
sets in greater detail and provide information on ownership, current access levels
(and how to request access) and constraints on access.
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APPENDIX 1: Access to the Butterflies for the New Millennium data set
Introduction
Butterflies for the New Millennium (BNM) is the national distribution recording scheme for
butterflies in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. The scheme was
launched in 1995 by Butterfly Conservation (www.butterfly-conservation.org) and the
Biological Records Centre (BRC) (www.brc.ac.uk), part of the NERC Centre for Ecology and
Hydrology. In 1998, the scheme was extended formally to the Republic of Ireland with coordination being carried out by the Dublin Naturalists’ Field Club (www.dnfc.net). Historical
butterfly records have been collated into the BNM data set as well as new ones.
The BNM data set contains over 3.5 million butterfly distribution records from 1690-present
covering all butterfly species across the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel
Islands. Each record consists of a minimum of species name, grid reference (minimum
resolution of 10km square and maximum of 100m square) and date. Most also have recorder
name or source, site name and many recent records have a measure of the abundance of
the species seen. The records cover over 98% of the 10km squares in the survey area, with
most comprehensive coverage in the 1970-82 and 1995-99 periods (published as the Atlas
of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, Heath et al. 1984 and The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies
in Britain and Ireland, Asher et al. 2001, respectively).
Ownership
Butterfly Conservation and BRC jointly own the collated BNM data set. The master copy of
the national data set is held by Butterfly Conservation and a copy by BRC. However, the
national BNM data set is a compilation of local data sets, each with separate ownership.
Many have been assembled by Butterfly Conservation’s local Branches, but some are held
by separate organisations (e.g. the Dublin Naturalists’ Field Club, local record centres,
RSPB, the National Trust and the statutory nature conservation agencies) or individuals.
Current access levels
•
•
•
•
10km square summary data are publicly and freely available to view e.g. on the NBN
Gateway and in publications such as The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and
Ireland (Asher et al. 2001, OUP).
10km square summary data are available for use by application using the standard
data request form. This can be downloaded from www.butterfly-conservation.org/bnm
together with standard terms and conditions covering use of BNM data. Applications
are determined by senior staff at Butterfly Conservation and BRC with a strong
presumption in favour of providing access to the data. Data access and use is
restricted to the uses stated on the application form and governed by standard terms
and conditions. Separate applications should be made for different end uses of the
data. A charge may be made to cover administration costs associated with the
management, extraction and interpretation of requested data and processing of
application forms.
Detailed data (i.e. records at a spatial resolution less than 10km square) from the
period 1800 to 1994 are publicly and freely available to view e.g. on the NBN
Gateway. Detailed data from 1995 onwards are only available to view upon
application.
Detailed data (i.e. records at a spatial resolution less than 10km square) from all
dates are available for use by application using the standard data request form. This
can be downloaded from www.butterfly-conservation.org/bnm together with standard
terms and conditions covering use of BNM data. Applications are determined by
senior staff at Butterfly Conservation and BRC with a strong presumption in favour of
providing access to the data. Data access and use is restricted to the uses stated on
the application form and governed by standard terms and conditions. Separate
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applications should be made for different end uses of the data. A charge may be
made to cover administration costs associated with the management, extraction and
interpretation of requested data and processing of application forms.
Constraints on data access
Butterfly Conservation and BRC reserve the right to refuse data request applications. In
addition certain other constraints apply.
• Sensitive records – very few records are deemed sensitive in this extensive data
set. Records of the Large Blue Maculinea arion are all deemed sensitive because of
the potential risk to the success of the ongoing reintroduction programme. Records
from certain sites may be deemed sensitive by compilers of the local BNM data sets
and, in such cases, records should only be passed onto the national database at a
suitably coarse grid reference resolution to make free access acceptable (or not
passed on at all).
• Requests for site data – requests for BNM data from a single site or small
geographical area will normally be passed onto the holder of the appropriate local
BNM data set e.g. a local record centre or Butterfly Conservation Branch.
• Academic research – Butterfly Conservation and BRC encourage data requests
for research and will normally treat such requests as collaborations, including the
incorporation of data access administration costs into research proposals wherever
possible. Where analysis of BNM data forms a substantial part (as determined by
Butterfly Conservation and/or BRC) of subsequent publications, Butterfly
Conservation and BRC staff would expect to be involved in the preparation of such
publications as co-authors. This would be set out in Schedule 1 of the standard terms
and conditions applying to data requests for academic research. In addition, Butterfly
Conservation and BRC reserve the right to refuse or limit research data requests
where these impinge on planned or ongoing research collaborations. In such cases
where data have already been supplied to an external researcher, further copies of
the data will not normally be released for similar studies without their agreement.
For more information visit www.butterfly-conservation.org/bnm
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APPENDIX 2: Access to the National Scarce Moth Recording Scheme data set
Introduction
Butterfly Conservation (www.butterfly-conservation.org) has administered the National
Scarce Moth Recording Scheme (NSMRS) since 1998, with the support of the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC) (www.jncc.gov.uk). The aim of the scheme is to collate and
maintain UK records of Red Data Book and Nationally Scarce macro-moths into a single data
set to improve understanding of their status and distribution and to facilitate conservation
efforts, research and education. The NSMRS database contains approximately 50,000
macro-moth distribution records from 1800-present collated from a variety of sources
including:
• targeted surveys commissioned by Butterfly Conservation as part of The Action for
Threatened Moths Project.
• records supplied directly to Butterfly Conservation by volunteers, County Moth
Recorders and other individuals.
• records collated under the National Scarce Moth Recording Scheme by Paul Waring
in association with the Nature Conservancy Council and JNCC (1980-1996).
• summary 10-km square moth distribution data supplied by the Biological Records
Centre (BRC).
• records contributed by local moth groups, local record centres and a variety of
agencies and organisations including English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage, the
Countryside Council for Wales, the National Trust and the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds.
Ownership
Butterfly Conservation and JNCC jointly own the collated NSMRS data set. The master data
set is held by Butterfly Conservation and copies by JNCC and BRC. However, the collated
national data set is a compilation of local data sets with separate ownership held both by
individuals (including County Moth Recorders) and separate organisations (e.g. local record
centres, Scottish Natural Heritage etc.).
Current access levels
A database of historic 10km square summary data including much of the NSMRS data is
expected to be publicly and freely available to view on the NBN Gateway in the near future.
Applications to view and use detailed data from the NSMRS database will be considered on
a case-by-case basis, and will be subject to standard terms and conditions. A charge may be
made to cover administration costs associated with the management, extraction and
interpretation of requested data. Data will usually be freely exchanged with County Moth
Recorders. Copyright and intellectual property rights remain with the recorder. Obtaining
permission from all recorders to use and disseminate historic moth data is not possible in
many cases. Therefore, in addition to gaining permission wherever possible, Butterfly
Conservation and the NSMRS take steps in mitigation to inform moth recorders how records
in general will be used, and this Data Access Policy forms a key part of this process.
Constraints on data access
Butterfly Conservation and JNCC reserve the right to refuse data request applications. In
addition certain other constraints may apply.
•
Sensitive records - Records for a small number of species are deemed sensitive
within the context of the NSMRS database. The majority of these species are
afforded protection under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981).
Records of the following species are currently considered sensitive, although the list
may be reviewed by the NSMRS: Barberry Carpet Pareulype berberata; Black-veined
Moth Siona lineata; Essex Emerald Thetidia smaragdaria maritima; Fiery Clearwing
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Pyropteron chrysidiformis; Fisher’s Estuarine Moth Gortyna borelii lunata; New Forest
Burnet Zygaena viciae ytenensis; Reddish Buff Acosmetia caliginosa; Sussex
Emerald Thalera fimbrialis; Dark Bordered Beauty Epione vespertaria; Pale Shining
Brown Polia bombycina; Speckled Footman Coscinia cribaria bivittata. Access is
granted to sensitive information on condition that data users will not disseminate,
compromise or otherwise infringe the confidentiality of such information.
Confidentiality of records other than the listed species cannot be assured. Where
recorders impose additional restrictions on the use of their data, the NSMRS may be
unable to accept the data.
•
Academic research – Butterfly Conservation and JNCC encourage data requests for
research and will normally treat such requests as collaborations, including the
incorporation of data access administration costs into research proposals wherever
possible. Where analysis of NSMRS data forms a substantial part (as determined by
Butterfly Conservation and/or JNCC) of subsequent publications, Butterfly
Conservation and JNCC staff would expect to be involved in the preparation of such
publications as co-authors. In addition, Butterfly Conservation and JNCC reserve the
right to refuse or limit research data requests where these impinge on planned or
ongoing research collaborations. In such cases where data have already been
supplied to an external researcher, further copies of the data will not normally be
released for similar studies without their agreement.
For further information please contact Dr. Dan Hoare, Butterfly Conservation
0870 7744309 dhoare@butterfly-conservation.org
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