The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has formally opened its new research facility, called ‘Diversity,’ in Canberra. This research and education hub is the largest investment in a generation towards conserving Australia’s unique biodiversity. The facility was a $90 million investment. Its purpose is to protect an enormous aggregating of specimens crucial for learning about and preserving this nation’s unusual flora and fauna.
Our DIVERSITY facility located in the center of Canberra. Unique temperature-controlled vaults that are bushfire- and pest-resistant. These vaults will provide a state-of-the-art, secure environment for preserving nearly 13 million specimens. With 99 percent of Australia’s native bird species represented in this collection, as well as exotic birds, mammals, reptiles and a huge variety of insects.
A Treasure Trove of Specimens
Even more exciting, the Diversity facility has a phenomenal built-in access collection. These collections feature 55,000 bird specimens, 17,000 orchid specimens, 2.4 million moth specimens, and seven million beetle specimens. The preservation techniques used at the facility are cutting edge. Reptiles are kept in ethanol to preserve their structure.
Doug Hilton, Executive Director of the CSIRO’s Health and Biosecurity division, called the facility a game-changing investment that will help establish future research programs.
“We have to be able to shape our workforce and choose the programs of research that we think will give the best impact to the Australian community for the problems that face us today and over the next 10 years,” – Doug Hilton
The Diversity facility holds deep collections that provide an irreplaceable resource to researchers. They address the most urgent crises such as climate change and biodiversity collapse with these essential mechanisms. Hilton described the importance of being able to hone research programs to address the big challenges the most efficiently.
Enhancing Research Capabilities
In addition to specimen preservation, the Diversity facility includes state-of-the-art genomics laboratories and digitization facilities. Consistently and reliably, these advancements enable scientists to extract and disseminate more information from research specimens. Because of this, they open our eyes to a bigger picture of biodiversity.
Hilton went on to say that this facility will help tell the story of Australia’s natural heritage.
“It’s a little bit like a gallery or a museum that holds our national heritage … it’s a library of our biodiversity,” – Doug Hilton
The way we study biodiversity is being revolutionized by cutting-edge technology. It helps scientists monitor how the world changes over time and develop targeted, efficient conservation strategies. Hilton made a compelling case for why we need to know more about these seismic shifts.
“If we can’t understand how things are changing over time, it’s very hard to conserve things for the future,” – Doug Hilton
A Commitment to Australia’s Biodiversity
Clare Holleley, the Australian National Wildlife Collection’s chief instigator behind the project, is naturally excited about the new building. She thinks that it will significantly advance biodiversity research.
“What this building captures is the full diversity of Australian fauna and flora,” – Clare Holleley
The launch of Diversity is a new step for CSIRO’s commitment to communicating scientific knowledge and support for addressing the environmental challenges that you, Australia is currently facing. These issues include CSIRO’s declining productivity and sustainability impacts and the importance of building sovereign science capacity. This all-important focus guarantees their investments have a lasting impact for the good of the environment and society.
