The Brazilian National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA) has partnered with U.S. computer giant IBM to create Wikiflora, a collaborative website that will serve as a digital encyclopedia of biodiversity in the Amazon region. Academics, scientists and the general public will collaborate in the creation of the massive online database. “We will make all existing biological records available, and users will be able to compare plants already registered or describe new species. We also plan to promote new research, in addition to providing information,” IBM researcher Sergio Borges told Tierramérica.

“All of the information will be checked by specialists before it is posted online,” he added. The first version of Wikiflora, with 2,500 recorded plant species, will be presented at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro.