Scientific Collections

The purpose of a Scientific Collection is to preserve a specific inventory indefinitely, serving as a permanent record of the planet's natural heritage, in which the investment on the part of society for preserving these types of collections should be continuous. It is therefore necessary that a Scientific Collection receives full commitment on the part of the Institution in which it is housed so that it can be properly and permanently maintained. Note that it is common to come across extensive collections of a particular group, including many specialist researchers for this group at a given Institution, but successfully keeping information up-to-date without the commitment, replacement or interest of other researchers can only result in long-term collection deterioration.

Museums are the most appropriate places for maintaining biological scientific collections. Valuable biodiversity sample information should be placed into these collections, including valid descriptions of new species examples, scientific research vouchers, representative examples of specific regions (space) and distinct sampling periods (time). Handling of collection data must be as stringent and accurate as possible, in which even rare specimens, without the minimum amount of relevant collection data, are not usually integrated into these inventories.

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