While NatureCounts aims to share data as openly as possible, we must also consider the safety of the people and the subjects involved. NatureCounts handles data pertaining to sensitive species and species-at-risk, private or sensitive land, and groups with concerns about data sovereignty. That’s why not all data in NatureCounts is openly accessible, and the requirements for accessing different datasets vary.

All projects contributing data to NatureCounts retain ownership of their data and authority over how their data are accessed. This is primarily expressed in a dataset’s level of access. Some datasets are totally open with no restrictions, while others require the user to submit a request for approval, and some are not available at all. We’ll look at levels of access in more detail in Module 4.

Sharing data while keeping species, habitats, and people safe is a delicate balance, and one we are always striving to achieve with NatureCounts. The FAIR principles give us the framework to do just that.

This is the last page of Module 2. To continue learning about NatureCounts, you can return to the NatureCounts Post-secondary Curriculum.