All Species Foundation

The All Species Foundation (stylized as ALL Species Foundation) was an organization aiming to catalog all species on Earth by 2025 through their All Species Inventory initiative.[1] The project was launched in 2000 by Kevin Kelly, Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan.[2][3] Along with other similar efforts, the All Species Foundation was promoted as an important step forward in expanding, modernizing and digitizing the field of taxonomy.[4] The Foundation started with a large grant from the Schlinger Foundation but had difficulty finding continued funding.[5] As of 2007, the project is no longer active and "hands off [its] mission to the Encyclopedia of Life".[2]

The All Species Foundation received some critique for its approach to defining and identifying species. An open letter expressed concern over the species problem, a fundamental issue in taxonomy of what exactly defines a species. The letter argued that failing to acknowledge and account for this fundamental issue could undermine the use of the database for conservation and biodiversity preservation.[6]

See also

References
  1. "A Call for the Discovery of All Life-Forms on Earth". All Species Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  2. Kelly, Kevin. "Biography". Kevin Kelly. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  3. Hitt, Jack (December 9, 2001). "THE YEAR IN IDEAS: A TO Z.; The All-Species Inventory". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  4. Gewin, Virginia. "All living things, online". Nature. Springer Nature. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  5. "History". All Species Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 February 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  6. "Letter to the All Species Foundation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-07-28.
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