INSPIRE and Nature-SDIplus: further progress towards a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) for nature conservation in the EU

Landscape ecology is well-established as a theoretical basis for nature conservation. Spatial nature conservation data includes information such as the boundaries of protected sites, the distribution of species and the extent of habitats and biogeographical regions. Several factors have generated the need for interoperable, accessible and harmonised spatial datasets across all themes (including nature conservation themes) for the EU. The INSPIRE Directive is designed to address this issue by facilitating the development of a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) for the EU. The Nature-SDIplus project, building on earlier work by Nature-GIS, analysed nature conservation datasets and surveyed data users from several European countries, finding that there is a great deal of work required in order to bring these data up to the exacting standards of the INSPIRE Directive. Following on from this initial analysis Nature-SDIplus is developing a suite of tools to facilitate this work, and this paper presents an overview of these tools. They include a multicultural and multilingual thesaurus, metadata profile, data model and implementation guidelines to achieve INSPIRE compliance and data harmonisation. The final results will provide a valuable resource for trans-boundary, landscape ecology research and ecosystem-oriented conservation and management across Europe.