The Conservation Commons

From WorldChanging, a notice of an interesting proposal from the World Conservation Union called the "Conservation Commons Initiative." Essentially, the IUCN is proposing "to build a database of 'fair use' material specifically to 'improve open access to, and unrestricted use of, data, information, and knowledge related to conservation of biodiversity.' Organizations involved in the initiative include NGOs (such as the Nature Conservancy, WWF International, Conservation International), government-connected agencies (such as NASA, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences), and corporate entities (such as Chevron Texaco, Shell International Exploration & Production, Red Hat - Open Source Affairs). The initiative's principles are straightforward: Open Access; Mutual Benefit; and adherence to Rights and Responsibilities." Exciting stuff!