ARKive

ARKive – Images of Life on Earth
Type of site
Encyclopedia
Created byWildscreen
URLwww.arkive.org
Launched20 May 2003 (2003-05-20)
Current statusArchived

ARKive was a global initiative with the mission of "promoting the conservation of the world's threatened species, through the power of wildlife imagery",[1][2] which it did by locating and gathering films, photographs and audio recordings of the world's species into a centralised digital archive.[1] Its priority was the completion of audio-visual profiles for the c. 17,000 species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]

The project was an initiative of Wildscreen, a UK-registered educational charity,[3] based in Bristol.[4] The technical platform was created by Hewlett-Packard, as part of the HP Labs' Digital Media Systems research programme.[5]

ARKive had the backing of leading conservation organisations, including BirdLife International, Conservation International, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations' World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF),[1] as well as leading academic and research institutions, such as the Natural History Museum; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the Smithsonian Institution.[1] It was a member of the Institutional Council of the Encyclopedia of Life.[1]

Two ARKive layers for Google Earth, featuring endangered species[6] and species in the Gulf of Mexico[6] were produced by Google Earth Outreach. The first of these was launched in April 2008 by Wildscreen's Patron, Sir David Attenborough.[7]

The website closed on 15 February 2019; its collection of images and videos remains securely stored for future generations.

  1. ^ a b c d e f "About ARKive". ARKive. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  2. ^ "About Arkive". ARKive. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Wildscreen, registered charity no. 299450". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  4. ^ "Wildscreen – About". Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  5. ^ "HP Labs : Solutions and Services Research : Technology for Services : Services for Digital Publishing : ARKive". Hewlett-Packard. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Google Earth Outreach". Google Search. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Attenborough launches Wildscreen's Google Earth Layer – Press release 10 Apr 08 – ARKive". Wildscreen. 10 April 2008. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2011.

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