Template talk:IUCN Categories

Copyright of the listed sources?

Thank you for the list of links. However, we need to make sure that mappers are only recommended to use sources which are compatible with OpenStreetMap's license. Can you confirm if these sources can be copied and used freely, including for commercial purposes? --Jeisenbe (talk) 18:20, 5 October 2020 (UTC)

Good point, moving the list here for adjudication. The only one I know for sure should be good is the US source as it is a federal government work.

• IUCN World Heritage Programme Copyright protected
• Putting Nature on the Map, IUCN Copyright protected
• Environment and Climate Change Canada
• U.S. Geological Survey, Science Analytics and Synthesis, Gap Analysis Project (GAP): Protected Areas Database of the United States 2.0
• Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission
• The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands
• Department of EcoNet and Protected Areas of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine

--ZeLonewolf (talk) 18:31, 5 October 2020 (UTC)

Right, the US Federal Government releases all documents as Public Domain, so that's fine. It looks like most Canadian government documents are protected by "Crown Copyright", as are British documents and probably other former British colonies: https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/academic-integrity/copyright/crown-copyright - but you could try contacting the relevant agency and asking if there is an exception for the database that we need to access. I can't find a copyright notice page for the HELCOM or the Conventin on Wetlands, but maybe you could email them to ask? --Jeisenbe (talk) 19:54, 5 October 2020 (UTC)

I'd say we have a good "toe-hold" of how OSM can continue to use values 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 simply by refering to the table in the Template. With ZeLonewolf's (growing, with some strikeout type) list, we do have resources we can check whether a particular protected area is accurate using ODBL-compliant data — that is helpful. (To OSM data containing these values and even more being added and checked for accuracy). Stevea (talk) 20:10, 5 October 2020 (UTC)

Additionally, I'd say that because we've received a "yes, OSM may use 'our' data..." from local/state GIS departments for things like building footprint data or zoning / landuse data, mappers in specific countries where IUCN Category-tagged data exist that OSM might benefit from including should ask similar permission. We might get permission, but we won't if we don't ask. I've had good luck with this, even at national (in the USA) scale (e.g. AASHTO, which is not the federal government and therefore not automatically public domain, for USBRS route data). Stevea (talk) 20:25, 5 October 2020 (UTC)