Terms of Use - UN Biodiversity Lab

These terms and conditions outline the rules and regulations for the use of the UN Biodiversity Lab (UNBL) website.

By accessing this website we assume you accept these terms and conditions in full. Do not continue to use the UNBL website if you do not accept all of the terms and conditions stated on this page.

The following terminology applies to these Terms and Conditions, Privacy Statement, and Disclaimer Notice, and any agreements related to the use of the UNBLwebsite: “User”, “You”, and “Your” refer to any person accessing or using this website. “UNBL”, “We”, “Our”, and “Us” refer to the UN Biodiversity Lab and its partners responsible for operating and maintaining the platform. “Party” or “Parties” refers to the User and UNBL, either jointly or separately, as the context requires. “Third-Party Data” refers to datasets, information, and other content made available through UNBL on behalf of external data providers. Any use of the above terminology or other words in the singular, plural, capitalization, and/or gender-specific forms shall be deemed interchangeable and therefore as referring to the same.

Cookies

We employ the use of cookies. By using the UNBL website you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the UNBL privacy policy.

Most modern, interactive websites use cookies to enable us to retrieve user details for each visit. Cookies are used in some areas of our site to enable the functionality of this area and ease of use for those people visiting. Some of our affiliate/advertising partners may also use cookies.

License

Data

UNBL is not a producer of data hosted on the platform and therefore does not directly license the datasets used on this platform. We provide access to data per the conditions of use posed by the source datasets themselves. Licensing information can be found on each data layer’s information page, which can be accessed by clicking on the “i” icon associated with each dataset - see ‘How do I find more information about each dataset?’.

UNBL is accredited as a data digital public good by the Digital Public Goods Alliance. In line with promoting the use of open-source data, the majority of datasets hosted on the platform are also digital public good (DPG) open data. All datasets available under the “DPG” recognition are available under one of the following licenses:

  • CC-BY-4.0
  • CC-BY-SA-4.0
  • CC0-1.0
  • ODbL-1.0
  • ODC-By-1.0
  • PDDL-1.0
  • CC-BY-3.0-IGO
  • CC-BY-SA-3.0-IGO

Content

UNBL makes its own content publicly available under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International license, unless otherwise specified under the conditions of use provided by the relevant source datasets.

Under this license:

You are free to:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

Under the following terms:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  • ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Copyright

UNBL does not assert intellectual property rights on the data made available by Third-Party Data providers for inclusion on the platform. However, all intellectual property rights for the platform are the property of UNBL and/or its licensors. All intellectual property rights are reserved.

Maps and cartographic data

The designations employed and the presentation of material on UNBL maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Please note:

The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the Parties.

Final boundary between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined.

Final status of the Abyei area is not yet determined.

A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

In areas where there are unsettled border disputes between countries, area-based metrics are calculated without including those disputed areas.

Hyperlinking to our content

  1. The following organizations may link to our website without prior written approval:
    • Government agencies;
    • Search engines;
    • News organizations;
    • Online directory distributors when they list us in the directory may link to our website in the same manner as they hyperlink to the websites of other listed businesses; and
    • System wide Accredited Businesses except soliciting non-profit organizations, charity shopping malls, and charity fundraising groups which may not hyperlink to our website.
  2. These organizations may link to our home page, to publications or to other website information so long as the link: (a) is not in any way misleading; (b) does not falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement or approval of the linking party and its products or services; and (c) fits within the context of the linking party's site.
  3. We may consider and approve in our sole discretion other link requests from the following types of organizations:
    • commonly-known consumer and/or business information sources such as Chambers of Commerce, American Automobile Association, AARP and Consumers Union;
    • community sites;
    • associations or other groups representing charities, including charity giving sites,
    • online directory distributors;
    • internet portals;
    • accounting, law and consulting firms whose primary Users are businesses; and
    • educational institutions and trade associations.

We will approve link requests from these organizations if we determine that: (a) the link would not reflect unfavorably on us or our accredited businesses (for example, trade associations or other organizations representing inherently suspect types of business, such as work-at-home opportunities, shall not be allowed to link); (b) the organization does not have an unsatisfactory record with us; (c) the benefit to us from the visibility associated with the hyperlink outweighs the absence of UNBL; and (d) where the link is in the context of general resource information or is otherwise consistent with editorial content in a newsletter or similar product furthering the mission of the organization.

If you are among the organizations listed in paragraph 3 above and are interested in linking to our website, you must notify us by sending an email to support@unbiodiversitylab.org. Please include your name, your organization name, contact information (such as a phone number and/or e-mail address) as well as the URL of your site, a list of any URLs from which you intend to link to our website, and a list of the URL(s) on our site to which you would like to link. Allow 2-3 weeks for a response. If approved, your organization must follow the restrictions laid out in paragraph 2.

Approved organizations may hyperlink to our website as follows:

  • By use of our official name; or
  • By use of the uniform resource locator (web address) being linked to; or
  • By use of any other description of our website or material being linked to that makes sense within the context and format of content on the linking party's site.

No use of the UNBL logo or other artwork will be allowed for linking without an existing trademark license agreement.

Iframes

Without prior approval and express written permission, you may not create frames around our web pages or use other techniques that alter in any way the visual presentation or appearance of our website. We allow the use of iframes on a case by case basis for non-commercial entities. If you are interested in including an iframe of UNBL on your website, please reach out to support@unbiodiversitylab.org.

Content liability

We shall have no responsibility or liability for any content appearing on your website. You agree to indemnify and defend us against all claims arising out of or based upon your website. No link(s) may appear on any page on your website or within any context containing content or materials that may be interpreted as libelous, obscene or criminal, or which infringes, otherwise violates, or advocates the infringement or other violation of, any third party rights.

Translations

The language versions of UNBL are implemented through AI-based translations, with ad hoc review by native speakers.

Reservation of rights

We reserve the right at any time and in its sole discretion to request that you remove all links or any particular link to our website. You agree to immediately remove all links to our website upon such request. We also reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions and its linking policy at any time. By continuing to link to our website, you agree to be bound to and abide by these linking terms and conditions.

Removal of links from our website

If you find any link on our website or any linked website objectionable for any reason, you may contact us about this. We will consider requests to remove links but will have no obligation to do so or to respond directly to you.

Whilst we endeavor to ensure that the information on this website is correct, we do not warrant its completeness or accuracy; nor do we commit to ensuring that the website remains available or that the material on the website is kept up to date.

Disclaimer

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we exclude all representations, warranties and conditions relating to our website and the use of this website (including, without limitation, any warranties implied by law in respect of satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and/or the use of reasonable care and skill). Nothing in this disclaimer will:

  1. limit or exclude our or your liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence;
  2. limit or exclude our or your liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
  3. limit any of our or your liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law; or
  4. exclude any of our or your liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.

The limitations and exclusions of liability set out in this Section and elsewhere in this disclaimer: (a) are subject to the preceding paragraph; and (b) govern all liabilities arising under the disclaimer or in relation to the subject matter of this disclaimer, including liabilities arising in contract, in tort (including negligence) and for breach of statutory duty.

To the extent that the website and the information and services on the website are provided free of charge, we will not be liable for any loss or damage of any nature.

Contacting us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below.

support@unbiodiversitylab.org

Last Edited on June 11 2026