New app sends data on species and nature directly to the common public databases

The Naturdatabase is now in operation as a new, coherent solution, where the web and app interact and have been made more user-friendly in collaboration with government agencies and the municipalities. The solution will make it easier to plan tasks, ensure the quality of registrations and report observations directly from the field. The modernisation of the Naturdatabase with a mobile app has also been a concrete result target for Danmarks Miljøportal.

Skive Municipality no longer uses paper in the field

In Skive Municipality, biologist Lars Emil Hansen uses the solution in his daily work with nature inspections.

"The biggest boost is that I can register observations in the app directly from the field instead of first writing on paper and then spending time typing it all in. The heavy work of transferring information from paper to computer disappears, and in practice it frees up about a quarter of my time," says Lars Emil S. Feldager Hansen, biologist in Skive Municipality.

He points out in particular that the app makes it easier to work systematically with species registrations and documentation out on the areas.

"The search function makes it faster to find the right species, and we can take pictures directly in the app and link them to the nature inspection immediately. The GPS function in the app also means that we can extract coordinate points directly in the system, without having to first note these via GPS and then move them to the Naturdatabasen," he says.

Strengthens both nature management and nature monitoring

Once nature data has been collected, it can be included in municipal case processing, assessments of the state of nature, environmental assessments and other public authority tasks.

"For the municipalities, this means both that you can save time in the field, but also that you can get more usable data into the further administration more quickly. When registrations become easier to make and easier to quality assure, it strengthens the planning and the basis for the decisions we make about nature," says Ann Ammitzbo, Konst. technical director in Skive Municipality and chairperson of the Expert Group for Nature in Danmarks Miljøportal.

It also strengthens the data basis across authorities and over time.

"It is a milestone that nature data can be registered directly in an app while the fieldwork is being carried out. Data is sent directly to the common public database without any extra workflows. Unambiguous, secure and digital registration is part of cost-effective species and nature monitoring, which at the same time ensures access to data for everyone with an interest. The app solution is the result of a strong collaboration between the state, regions, municipalities and Danmarks Miljøportal, and the data contributes to Denmark being able to comply with, among other things, international obligations and document the results of, for example, the establishment of nature national parks," says Lone Mossin, Head of Division for NOVANA & Control at the Danish Agency for Green Area Conversion and Aquatic Environment.

Danmarks Miljøportal is a joint public data collaboration between the state, municipalities and regions, and the Expert Group for Nature is responsible for both the Naturdatabasen and Danmarks Naturdata.

"Naturdatabasen's web and app have been developed in close collaboration with the users, and the new solution is based directly on the experiences and input that have come from them along the way. It has been crucial to create a tool that fits the specific workflows in nature management, both when tasks need to be planned, quality assured and registered in the field," says Lau Lyck Nielsen, system manager for Nature and Arter, Danmarks Miljøportal.

Naturdatabasen can be accessed by the authorities and their partners via Danmarks Miljøportal on naturdatabasen.miljoeportal.dk  and can be found in the App Store and for Android, while their registrations can be found by anyone together with other open authority data in the nature area on naturdata.miljoeportal.dk.