Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI)

The ABMI is a leader in biodiversity monitoring. We work collaboratively to provide ongoing, relevant and scientifically credible information on Alberta's living resources. We are an organization filled with bright minds, diverse expertise, and valued partners and collaborators. 

Our Vision: The ABMI advances biodiversity monitoring to inform responsible resource management and land stewardship, now and for future generations. 

Our Mission: We track changes in wildlife and their habitats across Alberta, working collaboratively to provide ongoing, relevant, and scientifically credible information about our living resources.

 OUR HISTORY 

A Comprehensive Monitoring System 

The ABMI as we know it officially began operations in 2007. A small team was motivated to answer a pressing question: how can we evaluate the combined effects of human activities on Alberta’s natural environments? Alberta was a province in transition, with a growing population and demand for natural resources, that needed a comprehensive system effective across multiple scales to monitor changes in Alberta’s ecosystems. 

While we formally incorporated as a not-for-profit in 2007, the idea behind the ABMI was born long before. The program emerged from a decade of planning and testing. We developed protocols to monitor seven taxonomic groups determined by our scientific advisors to be useful indicators of ecosystem health as well as protocols aimed at monitoring habitats. Through these pilot years, we refined the protocols by focusing on key questions like, “can this be implemented in a standardized and cost-effective way across the whole province?” and “does it produce the data needed to evaluate cumulative effects?”