A Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) Pole-to-Pole of the Americas in support of conservation and sustainable use of living resources in the sea

Knowledge on the status and trends in marine biodiversity, and associated drivers of biodiversity change across the Americas is sparse and geographically uneven. International cooperation is needed to fill observational gaps at these geographic scales and provide information to satisfy policy targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Convention of Biological Diversity. Effective conservation and management efforts from local to regional domains thus require an ocean observing system that monitors marine life following agreed standards and best practices. The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network Pole to Pole of the Americas (MBON Pole to Pole) responds to this need by coordinating data collection using standard methods, and facilitating sharing of information and data, capacity building, technology transfer between nations and groups, and voluntary participation of citizens in biodiversity monitoring. The program is a regional network of collaborating research institutions, marine laboratories, parks, and reserves that aim to tackle challenges that threaten sustainability of ecosystem services through conservation ecology. The MBON Pole to Pole is a coalition that: 1) enhances our knowledge of biodiversity and its services; 2) coordinates disaggregated biodiversity monitoring and science programs; 3) expands our understanding of physical drivers on biological systems and biota; 4) creates synergies for data management and improves access to information; and 5) develops biodiversity indices needed for a country to monitor the health of marine ecosystems. The network supports the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) as a stepping stone toward the development of a "thematic" Global MBON. It currently facilitates the collection of biological observations in the coastal zone, and progressively in the open and deep sea, using best practices and common methodologies along the east and west margins of the continent.