Data on protected species – for their protection
The main issue of conservation is the lack of data about distribution, abundance and , in particular, exact location of findings of protected species. Although they are often identified, all information is found in the notes of individual researchers or in private archives. Therefore, the data on protected species, if not published or recorded on special data basis or information systems, are not used planning general type of protection measures and cannot guarantee that species found by individual observers can be protected by the Law on protected species of the Republic of Lithuania, or other national or international law. This problem is particularly acute while planning economic activities (even in accordance with the appropriate procedures), particularly during spatial planning. If data on rare species sites are discovered after approving spatial or other planning documents, it is often impossible to protect sites of endangered species, or it causes conflict situations with land users or developers. However, this problem can be easily solved by publishing data of individual researchers or naturalists with exact sites of protected species, abundance and status of local populations.