Geographic Information Systems, commonly known as GIS, are no longer simply a computer tool to visualize spatial phenomena and variables. They have become a discipline for the integration and analytical of geospatial information for decision-making.

GIS has made an important contribution to biodiversity conservation and its very diverse fields, in which the study of the distribution and quantification of species, ecosystems and landscapes are of special interest. In addition, within the Joint INBio-SINAC Program, SIGBio’s task has been to support planning and decision-making in the many distinct thematic areas that fall within MINAE’s mandate.

The GIS Biodiversity Laboratory (SIGBio) cuts across all phases of INBio’s core process: the gathering, processing or analysis, and sharing of information, something that is clearly visible in the implementation of the ECOMAPAS project (inventory, cataloguing and cartography of ecosystems) and the Bio-indicators project (a plan for a geographic-statistical analysis of environmental-economic information for improved decision-making in the Conservation Areas).

Bioindicators Project: Integrating biodiversity indicators and economic valuation in land use management decisions

TARGET as a tool for prioritising biodiversity conservation payments on private land – a sensititvity analysis