The initiative was born with the aim of determining the state of the marine biodiversity of the Balearic Sea, based on the available information, the result of 40 years of marine research campaigns carried out by the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands of the IEO, and to determine the specific composition of the communities of target taxonomic groups in biotopes of the Balearic Sea.

The initiative was born with the aim of determining the state of the marine biodiversity of the Balearic Sea, based on the available information, the result of 40 years of marine research campaigns carried out by the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands of the IEO, and to determine the specific composition of the communities of target taxonomic groups in biotopes of the Balearic Sea.

In addition, the design and implementation of a Marine Biodiversity Information System (SIBM) was set as a second objective, which would allow the integration of all the available information in a common georeferenced platform.

A first phase of the project consisted of collecting and structuring information from different documentary sources. The second phase focused on the conceptual and physical design of a Marine Biodiversity Information System (SIBM), which structures georeferenced information into different interrelated layers within the framework of a Geographic Information System. The main layers will include physical, topographic, and taxonomic aspects (phytoplankton, zooplankton, demersal shelf and slope species, coastal benthic species, species in reserves, and meso and epipelagic communities, among others).

In the third phase, a spatial data infrastructure of marine biodiversity of the Balearic Sea was developed, which offers interoperable geo-services according to the standards of the European Inspire Directive and would facilitate the consultation and visualization of marine biodiversity information of the Balearic Sea.

The proposed project contributes, in a relevant way, to good biodiversity management. The unification, structuring and dissemination of taxonomic information from the Balearic Sea will also have a synergistic effect on improving the quality of the work carried out and on an increase in scientific productivity, as it will integrate data from 2000 species.